Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition. It is where there is a tendency to have recurrent seizures that begin in the brain. Epilepsy will usually only be diagnosed once a person has had more than one seizure.
More than half a million people in the UK have epilepsy; this equates to around 1 in 100 people. Epilepsy is more common in children and people over 65.
There are many causes for epilepsy; genetic, trauma, infection such as meningitis and stroke for example. However, for most the cause is unknown.
An epileptic seizure is a sudden excessive and synchronised discharge of a group of nerve cells in the brain due to a disruption of the electrical and chemical balance in the brain. There are many different types of seizures and much depends on where in the brain it starts, if it spreads and how far it spreads.