Five Facts about epilepsy

pharmafile | August 21, 2025 | Feature | Medical Communications |  Five Facts, Neurology, epilepsy, neurological condition, seizures 

1

Epilepsy occurs when the normal electrical activity in the brain changes. For many, the cause is unclear, but genes and brain damage are understood to be related to the condition.1

2


The risk of premature death in people with epilepsy is up to three times higher than in the general population. A significant portion of mortality is preventable, such as falls, drowning or prolonged seizures.2

3


Contrary to conventional understanding, only 3% of people with epilepsy have seizures triggered by lights. There can be many triggers, such as stress, a lack of sleep, not taking prescribed medications, alcohol, illegal drugs or hormonal fluctuations as part of the menstrual cycle.3

4


Epilepsy has a high co-morbidity rate. 50% of those diagnosed with epilepsy also have pre-existing physical or psychiatric conditions.4

5

Epilepsy is one of the world’s oldest recognised medical conditions, with written records dating back to 4000 BC. In the ancient world, epilepsy was understood to be caused by evil spirits invading the body, and so the treatment often involved spiritual intervention.5

References:

  1. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/epilepsy/
  2. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy
  3. https://www.thebraincharity.org.uk/10-things-about-epilepsy/
  4. https://epilepsy-institute.org.uk/eri/about-epilepsy/epilepsy-statistics/
  5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8051941/
The Pharmafile Brief

This article featured in: September 2025 – The Pharmafile Brief

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