Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a group of disorders marked by problems in the normal functioning of the brain. These problems can produce seizures, unusual body movements, a loss of consciousness or changes in consciousness, as well as mental problems or problems with the senses.

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a condition that has been known to mankind since ancient times. It affects the brain to cause repeated convulsions or seizures - also called fits in common parlance. The word “epilepsy” comes from the Greek and means to be taken, seized or attacked.

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP)

Epilepsy Treatment

Can Stem Cells be Used to Treat Epilepsy?

Catamenial Epilepsy

Breath Analysis in Epilepsy Treatment Monitoring

Epilepsy Classification

Catamenial Epilepsy Diagnosis and Treatment

Epilepsy Legal Implications

Epilepsy Syndromes

Epilepsy Epidemiology

Epilepsy in Children

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Epilepsy Pathophysiology

Epilepsy Seizure Types

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

Texas Children’s successfully treats AADC deficiency using FDA-approved gene therapy

Texas Children's is pleased to announce that a three-year-old girl has been successfully treated with the first-ever FDA-approved gene therapy treatment for AADC deficiency.

19 Aug 2025

Leg movement variability provides reliable marker of dystonia in pediatric cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy affects around one in 345 children in the U.S., and more than half of them experience a problem called dystonia - involuntary and often painful muscle contractions, most commonly in the legs, that lead to abnormal movement and postures and make regular activities such as walking difficult.

14 Aug 2025

Aging weakens blood-brain barrier and impairs memory

A new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago reveals how the blood-brain barrier gets leakier with age, contributing to memory deficits.

12 Aug 2025

Brain cells follow rhythmic patterns during learning and memory retrieval

A research team from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, and the Medical Center - University of Freiburg has gained new insights into the brain processes involved in encoding and retrieving new memory content.

11 Aug 2025

New subcutaneous EEG device offers breakthrough in epilepsy monitoring

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London in partnership with the Mayo Clinic and UNEEG medical, has found that an electronic device placed under the scalp is an effective and feasible means of accurately tracking epilepsy.

11 Aug 2025

New insights into how keto diet can restore cognitive function following status epilepticus

Epilepsy affects over 70 million people worldwide, and a significant portion of patients suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), where standard medications fail.

11 Aug 2025

Pregnancy complications may signal early stroke risk

Experiencing complications during pregnancy is linked with a higher risk of stroke before age 50, according to a study published August 6, 2025, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Aug 2025

Scientists reveal how rare gene mutations drive schizophrenia risk

Researchers analyzed the largest exome-sequencing dataset to date and identified new rare coding variants and genes linked to schizophrenia risk. The study highlights converging genetic pathways, implicating chromatin organization and GABAergic signaling in schizophrenia neurobiology.

4 Aug 2025

Flooding linked to increased hospitalizations among older adults

New research examining 17 years of data from Medicare hospitalization claims and major flooding events finds increased rates of skin diseases, nervous system diseases, and injuries or poisonings among adults aged 65 and older following major floods.

31 Jul 2025

Study finds continued use of risky antiseizure drugs during pregnancy

Despite evidence of the risk of malformations at birth, or birth defects, use of some antiseizure drugs during pregnancy has persisted, according to a study published on July 23, 2025, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Jul 2025

Weill Cornell Medicine launches study to advance treatments for rare neurological disorder

A $1.1 million grant from the parent-caregiver-led Rare Bird Foundation to Weill Cornell Medicine is supporting the launch of a natural history study for a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that causes developmental delays and seizures called MEF2C Haploinsufficiency syndrome (MCHS).

23 Jul 2025

States pass privacy laws to protect brain data collected by devices

More states are passing laws to protect information generated by a person's brain and nervous system as technology improves the ability to unlock the sensitive details of a person's health, mental states, emotions, and cognitive functioning.

23 Jul 2025

Gene editing in the brain offers hope for ultra-rare neurological disease

Scientists have corrected gene mutations in mice causing an ultra-rare disease by editing DNA directly in the brain with a single injection, a feat with profound implications for patients with neurological diseases.

21 Jul 2025

Understanding brain activity during sleep to detect early neurological changes

"Complex processes are going on in the brain when we sleep," says Dr Karolina Armonaitė, a neuroscientist from Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. According to her, a more precise understanding of what happens in different areas of the cerebral cortex during sleep can help diagnose sleep disorders and neurological diseases more accurately.

18 Jul 2025

New insights into brain fueling could lead to treatments for stroke, neurodegeneration

A new Yale study has revealed that neurons - the energy-hungry cells that connect and direct activity in the brain - are equipped with "backup batteries" that kick in to keep the brain running during periods of metabolic stress.

18 Jul 2025

Ripple activity in the brain helps organize and store episodic memories

A research team from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Barcelona, the UB Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has identified, for the first time in humans, and in a realistic environment, a key neurophysiological mechanism in memory formation: ripple-type brain waves —high-frequency electrical oscillations that mark and organize the different episodes or fragments of information that the brain stores as memories.

17 Jul 2025

Middle precentral gyrus plays key role in orchestrating speech movements

A new study from UC San Francisco challenges the traditional view of how the brain strings sounds together to form words and orchestrates the movements to pronounce them.

17 Jul 2025

New tech could revolutionize neurodegenerative disease research and AI

When electrical activity travels across the brain, it moves like ripples on a pond. The motion of these "brain waves," first observed in the 1920s, can now be seen more clearly than ever before thanks to instruments and techniques created by a Stanford-led team.

17 Jul 2025

Hispanic people more likely to develop peripheral neuropathy than white adults

Hispanic people have an increased risk of peripheral neuropathy compared to white people that cannot be explained by many health, lifestyle and social risk factors, according to a study published July 16, 2025, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

16 Jul 2025

Taking specific antiseizure drugs during pregnancy linked to increased risk of malformations at birth

A new study that examined older and newer medications to treat seizures has found that using some medications during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of malformations at birth, or birth defects.

16 Jul 2025