People with epilepsy tend to have recurrent seizures (fits). The seizures occur because of a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain - there is an overload of electrical activity in the brain. This causes a temporary disturbance in the messaging systems between brain cells. During a seizure the patient's brain becomes "halted" or "mixed up".

Every function in our bodies is triggered by messaging systems in our brain. What a patient with epilepsy experiences during a seizure will depend on what part of his/her brain that epileptic activity starts, and how widely and quickly it spreads from that area. Consequently, there are several types of seizures and each patient will have epilepsy in his/her own unique way.

The word "epilepsy" comes from the Greek word epi meaning "upon, at, close upon", and the Greek word Leptos meaning "seizure". From those roots we have the Old French word epilepsie, and Latin word epilepsia and the Greek words epilepsia and epilepsies.

Epilepsy and life expectancy

Premature death is 11 times more common among people with epilepsy compared to the rest of the population, researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London reported in The Lancet.

The authors added that the risk is even greater if a person with epilepsy also has a mental illness.

Suicides, accidents and assaults accounted for 15.8% of early deaths. Among these 15.8%, the majority had been diagnosed with a mental disorder.

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