Epilepsy

Reviewed by:
John Gaitanis, MD
Updated: Jun 28, 2024
What is Epilepsy?
A condition that affects the brain and causes seizures, which are abnormal electrical discharges in the brain. Seizures can result in changes to sensation, emotion, behavior, muscle spasms, and/or a loss of consciousness.
Our blogs
Here are our latest blogs focusing on all things Epilepsy written by our team of qualified medical writers. We hope these are informative, inspiring and interesting! If you have an idea for a blog you would like to see, you can reach out to our support team at support@human.health
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Stress and Seizures

How stress can trigger seizures, the effects of seizures on stress, and breaking this vicious cycle.
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7 Common Seizure Triggers

Some factors are known to increase the risk of seizures. Here are 7 common seizure triggers and how you can manage them.
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Is Epilepsy Genetic?

This post will examine the role of genetics in epilepsy, the types of epilepsy influenced by genetics, and the ongoing research in this field.
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Common symptoms
Symptoms commonly experienced by people with Epilepsy.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, of course each person’s experience will be unique
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Absence seizures

Seizures characterized by a loss of consciousness and convulsions that affect one side of the body.

40% of users with Epilepsy track this
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Focal seizures

A type of seizure that affects the entire brain. Symptoms may include convulsions, loss of consciousness, and muscle stiffness.

28% of users with Epilepsy track this
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Generalized seizures

Seizures characterized by a sudden, brief loss of consciousness. May involve staring blankly into space and having no awareness of surroundings. These seizures typically last for less than 15 seconds.

25% of users with Epilepsy track this
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Seizures

Seizures are a sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain. It can cause changes in behavior, movements, or feelings, and in some cases, loss of consciousness.

22% of users with Epilepsy track this
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Common treatments
Treatments commonly used for Epilepsy.
Always consult your doctor before starting any treatment.
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Levetiracetam

Levetiracetam is a medication that slows down nerve activity, which may help reduce seizures. It does this by decreasing the activity of cells in the brain.

34% of users track this intervention
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Lamotrigine

Lamotrigine is a medication that slows down nerve activity, which may help reduce seizures and improve mood. It does this by acting on nerves to suppress their activity.

25% of users track this intervention
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Gabapentin

Gabapentin is a medication that slows down nerve activity, which may help reduce nerve pain and seizures. It does this by blocking the activation of cells in the brain.

20% of users track this intervention
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Lacosamide

Lacosamide is a medication that slows down nerve activity, which may help reduce seizures. It does this by reducing the activity of cells in the brain that are sending too many messages.

16% of users track this intervention
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Oxcarbazepine

Oxcarbazepine is a medication that suppresses abnormal nerve activity, which may help reduce seizures. It does this by decreasing the activity of cells in the brain that are sending too many messages.

14% of users track this intervention
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Topiramate

Topiramate is a medication that slows down nerve activity, which may help reduce seizures and migraines, and improve mood.

13% of users track this intervention
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Valproate

Valproic acid is a medication that decreases nerve activity and inflammation, which may help to reduce seizures and migraines. It may also have other effects, including improving mood, and reducing hallucinations and delusions, although how it works to produce these effects remains unclear.

6% of users track this intervention
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Brivaracetam

Brivaracetam is an anticonvulsant medication that may help reduce focal (partial) seizures

6% of users track this intervention
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Zonisamide

Zonisamide is a medication that slows down nerve activity, which may help reduce seizures. It does this by decreasing the activity of cells in the brain.

5% of users track this intervention
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Carbamazepine

Carbamazepine is a medication that slows down nerve activity and increases the amount of a chemical called serotonin in the brain. By slowing down nerve activity, it may help reduce seizures. By increasing serotonin availability, it may improve mood.

2% of users track this intervention
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Pregabalin

Pregabalin is a medication that may reduce pain, anxiety and seizures. It does this by blocking messages with a stimulating effect from being sent between cells in the brain.

2% of users track this intervention
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Eslicarbazepine

Eslicarbazepine is a medication that decreases abnormal excitement in the brain, which may help to reduce focal (partial) seizures.

2% of users track this intervention
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Phenytoin

Phenytoin is a medication that slows down nerve activity, which may help reduce seizures. It does this by decreasing the activity of cells in the brain that are sending too many messages.

0% of users track this intervention
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Clinical trials
Here are some of the latest clinical trials that are ongoing in Epilepsy. This is a random selection from clinicaltrials.gov and we are not affiliated with any of these researchers. If you would like to learn more about these trials please see the contacts section of the trial listing.
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Intervention Social Anxiety: Combining Parent-child Treatment

Denken + Doen = Durven

All sexes
8 Years - 16 Years

Effects of Aromatherapy on Anxiety and Pain During Dental Treatments in Adults: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Aroma diffuser with single-note sweet orange essential oil

All sexes
18 Years - 40 Years

Brief Transdiagnostic Treatment for Anxiety Disorders and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in South Africa

False Safety Behavioral Elimination Treatment (FSET)

All sexes
18 Years - 65 Years

Reducing Adult Inpatients Anxiety With Virtual Reality Meditation: A Prospective, Randomized Study

Virtual Reality headset with calming scenery

All sexes
18 Years - 99 Years

Behavioral Telehealth in Low-resource Primary Care Settings for Anxiety and Depression in Youth

STEP-UP (transdiagnostic behavioral therapy for pediatric anxiety and depression)

All sexes
8 Years - 16 Years

Evaluation of Parturients With Anxiety

Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation (CBM-I)

Female
18 Years - 45 Years

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Late Life Anxiety

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

All sexes
> 65 Years

Understanding Patient Engagement Trends in Anxiety Disorder Clinical Research

All sexes
> 18 Years

Schema Therapy for Treatment-resistant Anxiety Disorders

Individual Schema Therapy

All sexes
18 Years - 65 Years

An Online Survey for Women With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Female
> 18 Years
Leading research
Here is a selection of some of the latest publications in Epilepsy research selected from our list of top research journals.
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Epilepsy surgery in adults older than 50 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

By Vary O'Neal A, Tamani I, Mendo CW, Josephson CB, Burneo JG, Steven DA, Keezer MR
Published Apr 06, 2024

New stimulation procedures for language mapping in stereo-EEG.

By Abarrategui B, Pelliccia V, Giovannelli G, Nichelatti M, Valenzano S, Mikulan E, Pigorini A, Revay M, Scarpa P, Tassi L
Published Apr 06, 2024

Population pharmacokinetics and dosing optimization of perampanel in children with epilepsy: A real-world study.

By Li S, Yi J, Tuo Y, Nie G, Wang J, Wang Y, Sun D, Liu Z
Published Apr 04, 2024

Modulation index predicts the effect of ethosuximide on developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with spike-and-wave activation in sleep.

By Shibata T, Tsuchiya H, Akiyama M, Akiyama T, Kobayashi K
Published Apr 04, 2024

Development and prospective clinical validation of a convolutional neural network for automated detection and segmentation of focal cortical dysplasias.

By Chanra V, Chudzinska A, Braniewska N, Silski B, Holst B, Sauvigny T, Stodieck S, Pelzl S, House PM
Published Apr 03, 2024

National plans and awareness campaigns as priorities for achieving global brain health.

By Winter SF, Walsh D, Catsman-Berrevoets C, Feigin V, Destrebecq F, Dickson SL, Leonardi M, Hoemberg V, Tassorelli C, Ferretti MT, Dé A, Chadha AS, Lynch C, Bakhtadze S, Saylor D, Hwang S, Rostasy K, Kluger BM, Wright C, Zee PC, Dodick DW, Jaarsma J, Owolabi MO, Zaletel J, Albreht T, Dhamija RK, Helme A, Laurson-Doube J, Amos A, Baingana FK, Baker GA, Sofia F, Galvin O, Hawrot T
Published Apr 01, 2024

Health care utilization of Hispanic/Latino veterans with epilepsy: A national population-based study.

By Tantillo GB, Sullivan-Baca E, Rehman R, López MR, Haneef Z
Published Apr 01, 2024

Use of Recommended Neurodiagnostic Evaluation Among Patients With Drug-Resistant Epilepsy.

By Spotnitz M, Ekanayake CD, Ostropolets A, McKhann GM, Choi H, Ottman R, Neugut AI, Hripcsak G, Natarajan K, Youngerman BE
Published Apr 01, 2024

Prescribing patterns for higher dose folic acid in pregnant women with epilepsy treated with antiseizure medication.

By Vegrim HM, Dreier JW, Igland J, Gilhus NE, Alvestad S, Gissler M, Leinonen MK, Sun Y, Zoega H, Christensen J, Bjørk MH, Tomson T
Published Mar 30, 2024
Support organizations
Here are a few support organizations that have additional information and resources.
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