Epilepsy is a disease in which the affected person tends to have repeated seizures that start in the brain. Our brains function as our body's message center, and if there is a break in some or all of the brain functioning, a seizure can occur. The result of a seizure is that a person often collapses or faints. Sometimes, though, a person does not fall, but just "loses" time, unaware that they are being affected by a seizure.

Since epilepsy actually starts inside the brain, it is considered to be a neurological condition. A person might only have one seizure in their whole lifetime, or they may have repeated seizures. Only people with repeated seizures are referred to as epileptic. Anyone can have epilepsy and it is not certain just why it occurs. What is known about the disease is that it affects people of all ages, races, and economic income.

The important fact to remember is that a person's "seizure threshold" plays a key role in the disease. Each of us has an individual level of resistance, or tolerance, to seizures. This threshold is part of everyone's genetics and the chance for developing epilepsy is dependent upon the seizure threshold of your parents. People with lower seizure thresholds are more likely to have seizures than those with high thresholds. Someone with a high threshold is more likely to have seizures unrelated to epilepsy, perhaps as a result of an environmental incident, such as a head injury. This person would not be considered an epileptic and is unlikely to have had the seizure due to a genetic predisposition.

There are three types of epilepsy: Symptomatic epilepsy occurs when there is a known cause such as a head injury, brain infection, stroke or because of scar tissue on the brain.

Idiopathic epilepsy shows no clear cause for the seizures and the affected person usually does not have other disabilities. This form is usually started from a low seizure threshold and is very treatable.

Cryptogenic epilepsy is diagnosed when either of the other two forms is not definitively diagnosed and it is usually believed that a physical reason is the cause. Doctors will generally keep exploring until they find the cause for the seizures.

The good news for epilepsy sufferers is that, with the appropriate treatment, up to 80% of people become seizure free.