====== Epilepsy ======

>Epilepsy is a chronic noncommunicable disease of the brain that affects around 50 million people worldwide. It is characterized by recurrent seizures, which are brief episodes of involuntary movement that may involve a part of the body (partial) or the entire body (generalized) and are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness and control of bowel or bladder function.  Seizure episodes are a result of excessive electrical discharges in a group of brain cells. Different parts of the brain can be the site of such discharges. Seizures can vary from the briefest lapses of attention or muscle jerks to severe and prolonged convulsions. Seizures can also vary in frequency, from less than 1 per year to several per day."

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>__Although many underlying disease mechanisms can lead to epilepsy, the cause of the disease is still unknown in about 50% of cases globally."__\\ \\ Source : [[https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy|World Health Organization]]

//Note:// Many of the drugs which are currently used to treat epilepsy have unknown 'mechanisms of action'. e.g. [[content:medicine:drugs:levetiracetam]], [[content:medicine:drugs:valproate]], [[content:medicine:drugs:lamotrigine]], [[content:medicine:drugs:gabapentin]], [[content:medicine:drugs:cannabidiol]] etc.

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Also see : [[content:medicine:diseases:m-q:pnes]]