About Epilepsy - About Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a Greek word meaning to "seize" or "attack".
Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in the world with some 50 million people affected.
The condition crosses all geographical boundaries and onset may occur at any age; although the condition is most common in children and the elderly.
John Hughlings Jackson first recognised a seizure as being due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain in 1875. An epileptic seizure results from the abnormal synchronisation of electrical activity in neurons; this causes the temporary disruption of normal firing of regions of the brain. There are two main types of seizure; partial and generalised. The type of seizure will determine the individual's experience of epilepsy since different regions of the brain are involved in controlling different functions.
Epilepsy is a condition in which an individual experiences recurrent seizures. In the UK, around one person in 10 will have a single seizure at some point in their life, whereas one in 131 people have epilepsy.