Epilepsy is a neurological condition affecting the nervous system, which causes recurrent seizures. It is usually diagnosed after a person has at least two seizures. In epilepsy, clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain sometimes signal abnormally. This disturbance in the normal pattern of neuronal activity causes strange sensations, emotions, and behavior or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness. Epilepsy is a disorder with many possible causes. Anything that disturbs the normal pattern of neuron activity - from illness to brain damage to abnormal brain development - can lead to seizures.
Treatment almost always begins with seizure medication, before other possibilities are explored.