Epilepsy

Epilepsy
Other names	Seizure disorder
Generalized 3 Hz spike-and-wave discharges on an electroencephalogram
Medical specialty	Neurology
Symptoms	Periods of vigorous shaking, nearly undetectable spells[1]
Duration	Long term[1]
Causes	Unknown, brain injury, stroke, brain tumors, infections of the brain, birth defects[1][2][3]
Diagnostic method	Electroencephalogram, ruling out other possible causes[4]
Differential diagnosis	Fainting, alcohol withdrawal, electrolyte problems[4]
Treatment	Medication, surgery, neurostimulation, dietary changes[5][6]
Prognosis	Controllable in 69%[7]
Frequency	39 million / 0.5% (2015)[8]
Deaths	125,000 (2015)[9]

Epilepsy is a chronic condition of the brain. It is characterized by seizures that do not seem to have an obvious cause.^[10][11] To the outside viewer, these seizures show as episodes of heavy shaking.^[12] Depending on the seizure, the shaking may be short and difficult to detect or it may be longer.

People with epilepsy are sometimes called epileptic, but it is the fit or seizure that is "epileptic".

Many people have died from seizures.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Epilepsy Fact sheet". WHO. February 2016. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
2. ↑ McPhee SJ, Hammer GD (2010). "7". In Hammer GD, McPhee SJ (eds.). Pathophysiology of disease : an introduction to clinical medicine (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Medical. ISBN 978-0-07-162167-0.
3. ↑ Goldberg EM, Coulter DA (May 2013). "Mechanisms of epileptogenesis: a convergence on neural circuit dysfunction". Nature Reviews. Neuroscience. 14 (5): 337–49. doi:10.1038/nrn3482. PMC 3982383. PMID 23595016.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Longo DL, Fauci AS, Harrison TR, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Jameson JL, Loscalzo J (2012). "369 Seizures and Epilepsy". Harrison's principles of internal medicine (18th ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 3258. ISBN 978-0-07-174887-2.
5. ↑ Bergey GK (June 2013). "Neurostimulation in the treatment of epilepsy". Experimental Neurology. 244: 87–95. doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2013.04.004. PMID 23583414. S2CID 45244964.
6. ↑ Martin-McGill, Kirsty J.; Jackson, Cerian F.; Bresnahan, Rebecca; Levy, Robert G.; Cooper, Paul N. (7 November 2018). "Ketogenic diets for drug-resistant epilepsy". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 11 (11): CD001903. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001903.pub4. ISSN 1469-493X. PMC 6517043. PMID 30403286.
7. ↑ Eadie MJ (December 2012). "Shortcomings in the current treatment of epilepsy". Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. 12 (12): 1419–27. doi:10.1586/ern.12.129. PMID 23237349. S2CID 207221378.
8. ↑ Vos, Theo; Allen, Christine; Arora, Megha; Barber, Ryan M.; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Brown, Alexandria; Carter, Austin; Casey, Daniel C.; Charlson, Fiona J.; Chen, Alan Z.; Coggeshall, Megan; Cornaby, Leslie; Dandona, Lalit; Dicker, Daniel J.; Dilegge, Tina; Erskine, Holly E.; Ferrari, Alize J.; Fitzmaurice, Christina; Fleming, Tom; Forouzanfar, Mohammad H.; Fullman, Nancy; Gething, Peter W.; Goldberg, Ellen M.; Graetz, Nicholas; Haagsma, Juanita A.; Hay, Simon I.; Johnson, Catherine O.; Kassebaum, Nicholas J.; Kawashima, Toana; et al. (October 2016). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1545–1602. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31678-6. PMC 5055577. PMID 27733282.
9. ↑ Wang, Haidong; Naghavi, Mohsen; Allen, Christine; Barber, Ryan M.; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.; Carter, Austin; Casey, Daniel C.; Charlson, Fiona J.; Chen, Alan Zian; Coates, Matthew M.; Coggeshall, Megan; Dandona, Lalit; Dicker, Daniel J.; Erskine, Holly E.; Ferrari, Alize J.; Fitzmaurice, Christina; Foreman, Kyle; Forouzanfar, Mohammad H.; Fraser, Maya S.; Fullman, Nancy; Gething, Peter W.; Goldberg, Ellen M.; Graetz, Nicholas; Haagsma, Juanita A.; Hay, Simon I.; Huynh, Chantal; Johnson, Catherine O.; Kassebaum, Nicholas J.; Kinfu, Yohannes; et al. (October 2016). "Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1459–1544. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31012-1. PMC 5388903. PMID 27733281.
10. ↑ Commission on Epidemiology and Prognosis, International League Against Epilepsy (1993). "Guidelines for epidemiologic studies on epilepsy. Commission on Epidemiology and Prognosis, International League Against Epilepsy". Epilepsia. 34 (4): 592–6. doi:10.1111/j.1528-1157.1993.tb00433.x. PMID 8330566. S2CID 3264819.
11. ↑ Blume W, Lüders H, Mizrahi E, Tassinari C, van Emde Boas W, Engel J (2001). "Glossary of descriptive terminology for ictal semiology: report of the ILAE task force on classification and terminology". Epilepsia. 42 (9): 1212–8. doi:10.1046/j.1528-1157.2001.22001.x. PMID 11580774. S2CID 10894926.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
12. ↑ "Epilepsy". Fact Sheets. World Health Organization. October 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2013.