Definition of Epilepsy

Epilepsy is the name for a group of functional disorders of the brain that are characterised by repetitive seizures. Epilepsy is caused by abnormal, excessive electric discharges of the nerve cells or neurones in the brain. Epileptic seizures are nonspecific responses of the brain to all kinds of insults. Therefore, epilepsies may have a multitude of different causes. By convention (e.g., for epidemiological purposes), a diagnosis of epilepsy requires that the patient has had a minimum of two unprovoked seizures. Provoked (or “acute symptomatic”) epileptic seizures may appear as symptoms of various acute cerebral disorders (e.g., encephalitis, brain trauma). A first and single seizure should be clearly distinguished from “epilepsy,” as this has important implications (e.g., with respect to the patient’s eligibility for a driving licence).