What Causes Epilepsy?
Anything that disturbs the normal pattern of activity in the brain can trigger epilepsy. The cause can be illness, brain damage, or abnormal development of the brain. However, for about 75% of people with epilepsy no cause can be found.
- Structural Abnormalities/Brain Damage
- Stroke
- Prenatal injuries
- Genetic Influence
- Head trauma
Head injuries can cause seizures. If the head injury is severe, the seizures may not begin until years later. Head injury is one of the biggest causes of epilepsy in South Africa in particular, due to the high incidence of motor vehicle accidents.
Epilepsy may develop as a result of injury to the brain caused by another medical condition. In some cases, treating the underlying condition can reduce or stop seizures. In others, seizures may continue despite treatment of the original cause. The likelihood of seizure control depends on the type of condition, the area of the brain involved, and the extent of the injury.
Conditions that may be associated with epilepsy include:
- Brain tumours
- Stroke and other conditions that disrupt blood supply to the brain
- Infections such as meningitis, viral encephalitis, and HIV
- Cerebral palsy and other developmental or metabolic disorders
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