"The fit makes the patient fall down senseless; and without his will or consciousness presently every muscle is put in action; as if all the powers of the body were exerted to free itself from some great violence.  In these strong and universal convulsions, the urine, excrements and seed, are sometimes forced away, and the mouth is covered with foam, which will be bloody, when the tongue is bit, as it often is in the agony."

William Heberden (1718-1801)

Epilepsy is neurological condition in which there is a tendency to recurrence of seizures.  Seizures refer to abnormal movement or behavior due to unusual electrical activity in the brain.  Epilepsy is a fairly common condition affecting both sexes equally and tends to run in families.  Famous people who are known to have epilepsy include Thomas Edison, Handel and Julius Caesar.

What Causes Epilepsy

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Epilepsy occurs as a result of abnormal electrical activity originating from the brain.  Brain cells normally communicate via electrical signals sent out in a coordinated and orderly pattern.  In the case of epilepsy, so called "electrical storms" occur in the brain, resulting in these normally coordinated signals to go into sudden disarray.  It  is these electrical storms that produce the seizures that are observed.  These surges in electrical activity may occur in localized parts of the brain, or may be generalized, depending on the type of seizure.

Types Of Epileptic Seizures

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Based on the nature of seizures and brain electrical activity, seizures are divided into two broad groups: generalized and partial (also known as focal seizures).

Generalized seizures are produced by electrical impulses from throughout the entire brain, whereas partial seizures are produced, at least initially, by impulses that originate in a localized part of the brain. This part of the brain generating the seizures is known as  the focus (hence the term "focal seizures").

Classification of Epileptic Seizures:

1. Generalized seizures

• Convulsive: tonic-colic (formally known as grand mal seizures - this is the classic convulsive seizure with muscle jerking), clonic

• Non-convulsive: drop attacks, absence (petit mal), atypical absence, myoclonic

2. Partial seizures (non-convulsive)

• Simple partial (consciousness retained) with motor signs (Jacksonian), with somatosensory symptoms, with psychic symptoms

• Complex partial (consciousness impaired)

3. Secondary generalized seizures (convulsive)

• Simple partial seizures evolving to tonic-clonic seizures

• Complex partial seizures evolving to tonic-clonic seizures

• Simple partial seizures evolving to complex partial seizures and then to tonic-clonic seizures

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