Library · Disease
Epilepsy
Make it clearer
Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain, and what defines it is an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures: something that holds over time, an underlying tendency, like ground left prone to flooding even on a day when it isn't raining.
The clinical definition has more than one route. One of them works like this: there was a single unprovoked or reflex seizure, and the chance of more over the next ten years is at least 60%, meaning it is comparable to the risk already known to follow two unprovoked seizures. Unprovoked means no immediate cause set it off; reflex means a specific trigger did.
In brief
Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain with an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures.
One route to its clinical definition is a single unprovoked or reflex seizure carrying at least a 60% chance of further seizures over the next ten years, comparable to the risk that follows two unprovoked seizures.
Sources (2)
- International League Against EpilepsyA practical clinical definition of epilepsyPublished
- World Health Organization South-East AsiaKey terms and definitions in mental health
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated