Epilepsy is a common condition that affects approximately one in 200 people, and causes recurrent seizures. Seizures are caused by excess electrical activity in the brain, which disrupts the normal communication between brain cells.

The brain is the control centre for the whole body, and so what a person experiences during a seizure will depend upon the area of the brain that is affected. Many people will have no recollection of what occurred during their seizure.

Download our leaflet 'What is epilepsy?' to read more about different types of seizure

Epilepsy Research UK is currently funding a lot of research to find out exactly what happens to the brain before and during a seizure:

• Dr Andrew Trevelyan, at Newcastle University, is looking at what makes seizures begin. You can find out more here
• Professor John Jefferys, at the University of Birmingham, is studying a certain type of brain wave and its role in seizure generation. You can learn more here

Approximately 60% of the time, the cause of epilepsy is not known, and the condition is then known as 'idiopathic epilepsy'.

Diagnosis of epilepsy
Diagnosing epilepsy can be very difficult, especially as approximately one in 20 people experience a 'funny turn' at some time in their life. Due to this, epilepsy is rarely diagnosed after one seizure.

Epilepsy specialists have several tools to help them make an accurate diagnosis, however and these include:

• Patient and witness accounts
• Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans

Download our leaflet 'Diagnosing epilepsy' to read more

One of the projects currently funded by Epilepsy Research UK is using forms of MRI to study brain function and the effects of seizures:

• Professor Mark Richardson, at King's College London, is looking at how memories are processed by the brain, using a special type of MRI. Click here to read more

Treatments for epilepsy
Approximately 70% of epileptic seizures can be successfully treated and controlled by appropriate anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).

Download our leaflet entitled 'anti-epileptic drugs' to read about the different AEDs that are available.

Unfortunately, most AEDs cause unwanted side-effects, which can lower the quality of a person's life considerably. Side-effects can include weight gain, sleepiness, confusion, unsteadiness, lowered efficacy of the contraceptive pill and harm to an unborn baby.

People with epilepsy can also experience other effects, either as a result of their condition or because of their medication. These include:

Memory loss
People who have had many seizures in their lifetime often find that their memory is affected. Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is often difficult to treat with medication, and memory loss is usually most apparent in people who have this type of epilepsy.

Click here to read about the work being done by Dr Chris Butler, at the University of Oxford; who was given a grant by Epilepsy Research UK in 2010 to investigate the cause of memory loss in epilepsy and whether it can be prevented.

Depression
At least one in every eight people with epilepsy also has depression. Depression contributes to poor quality of life for people with epilepsy, and there is evidence that links depression with poor seizure control. Despite this, epilepsy services at all levels (GPs, hospitals and specialist consultants) rarely detect it. If a good method of identifying depression in epilepsy can be found, more people might benefit from being seizure free in the future.

• Surgery
• Ketogenic diet (click here for more information)
• Vagal nerve stimulation

Epilepsy Research UK currently funds research aimed at improving the outcome of surgery in patients with epilepsy:

• Dr Steven Kemp at St James University Hospital, Leeds, is investigating whether imaging techniques can be used to predict which patients will benefit from surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy. Read more here

If you would like to find out more about treatments for epilepsy, you can download our leaflet 'Treatments for epilepsy' here.

Epilepsy and family planning
Women with epilepsy need to be aware of the possible effect of their AED on the contraceptive pill and, if they do get pregnant, the effects it could have on their unborn child.

If you are a woman with epilepsy, you are advised to plan your pregnancies very carefully and and consult your neurologist about your current medication.

Professor Gus Baker and colleagues at the University of Liverpool, are currently exploring how exposure to certain AEDs in the womb can affect mental development.

In 2006, Epilepsy Research UK funded a project in Liverpool, led by Miss Janine Winterbottom, to examine how different women with epilepsy interpret the information they are given about pregnancy, and how this affects their decisions. You can read more about this project here

In 2001 Epilepsy Research UK awarded a grant to Dr Jim Morrow and his team at the Royal Hospital, Belfast, to conduct a large study into the precise risks of specific AEDs to unborn babies. A UK Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register, which the team had set up in 1996, formed the basis for patient recruitment to the study. Click here to find out more about the UK Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register and how to sign up.

Sudden Unexpected (Unexplained) Death in Epilepsy
The term Sudden Unexpected (Unexplained) Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) refers to the unexpected death of a person with epilepsy, who was otherwise healthy, and for whom no other cause of death can be found. Between 500 and 1,000 people with epilepsy die of SUDEP in the UK each year, usually whilst asleep/alone, and most of these deaths thought to be caused by a severe convulsive seizure affecting vital functions such as breathing or heart rhythm. Despite ongoing research, risk factors for SUDEP are only partly understood, but certain genes have recently surfaced as potential culprits. This gives hope that people with epilepsy who are at particular risk of SUDEP may be identified in the future and extra precautionary measures taken.

Information resources
Epilepsy Research UK has a series of information leaflets that you can download free of charge here. The topics covered are: