Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes recurring seizures, which happen when nerve cell activity in the brain is disrupted. Seizures may present with diverse neurologic symptoms, including but not limited to motor and sensory changes, speech disturbances, psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment.

Epilepsy can develop at any age. Some people have their first seizure as an infant, others as an adult. Because every person's experience looks different, epilepsy is considered a spectrum condition. Your care team will work with you and your family to understand your specific type.

Seizures are typically grouped into 2 categories, focal or generalized, which helps doctors guide treatment.

Generalized seizures typically cause loss of consciousness, nausea, headache, tiredness and confusion. Types of generalized seizures include:

• Generalized tonic-clonic seizures: Can cause loss of consciousness and muscle jerking.
• Absence seizures: Can cause a person to stare into space for a few seconds.
• Atonic seizures (drop attacks): Can cause a complete or partial loss of muscle tone.
• Clonic seizures: Cause muscle jerking, with or without loss of consciousness.
• Myoclonic seizures: Cause brief jerks of a group of muscles.
• Tonic seizures: Usually last less than a minute and involve sudden stiffening of the body, arms or legs.

Focal seizures may cause an aura, like visual changes, hearing abnormalities or unusual smells, before a seizure begins. Types of focal seizures include:

• Motor seizures: An uncontrolled movement that can include a brief twitch, rhythmic jerking of one limb or one side of the body, sudden stiffening, a drop of the head or a flailing of the arms and legs.
• Non-motor seizures: These are divided into 2 main categories - generalized nonmotor (absence) seizure and focal nonmotor seizure (each with distinct subtypes). They often involve staring and a brief lapse in awareness lasting a few seconds. Others can last longer and may involve changes in vision, hearing, taste or smell, along with nausea or changes in breathing and heart rate.

Absence seizures tend to be brief, lasting less than 20 seconds, and they can cause a person to briefly lose consciousness, be unresponsive and stare into space for a few seconds. The person having the seizure usually has no memory of it.

Every person's experience with epilepsy is a little different. Common symptoms include:

• Confusion
• Fear, anxiety or déjà vu
• Headaches
• Loss of or impaired consciousness or awareness
• Nausea
• Staring spells
• Sterotyped movements (automatism)
• Stiffening
• Uncontrollable jerking in the arms or legs

You'll have a full neurology team behind you. Your epilepsy care team may include:

• Epileptologist: A neurologist with specialized training in treating epileptic seizures and seizure disorders.
• Clinical neurophysiologists: A neurologist who specialized in the interpretation of electrocephalographic studies to diagnose and manage neurologic conditions such as epilepsy.
• Neurosurgeon: A surgeon trained in surgery for neurological conditions.
• Pediatric epilepsy surgeon: Specializes in pediatric neurosurgery for epilepsy.
• Pediatric neurologists: Specialists who diagnose and treat children with nervous system conditions.
• Neurophysiology technologists: They administer tests to diagnose neurological disorders, including epilepsy and seizure disorders.
• Neuropsychologists: Specialists who focus on the relationship between behavior and the brain.
• Nutritionists: Providers who will partner with you to build a nutrition plan to help manage epilepsy symptoms.
• Nurse care coordinators and case management nurses: Are available to answer questions at every step of your care.
• Advanced practice providers: These include physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses.
• Genetics specialists: They can analyze genes to determine if symptoms have a genetic cause.
• Neurodevelopmental pediatricians: They specialize in care and treatment to support healthy brain development.
• Nurses: They assist with your care during checkups and appointments.

Doctors use several tests to diagnose epilepsy, including:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An MRI uses safe radio waves and magnets to create images of the brain. Our team uses 3 Tesla MRI technology, which has twice the strength of standard 1.5 Tesla scanners, for highly detailed imaging.
• EEG (electroencephalography): EEG is a noninvasive test that records your brain's electrical activity. Small electrodes placed on your head continuously read and record brain wave activity, while the team records video to clinically correlate.
• Long-term EEG monitoring (LTM): LTM is a continuous video recording taken in a safe, monitored environment over an extended period to determine whether epileptic seizures are occurring and where in the brain they're starting.
• Genetic testing: Blood samples can help determine whether symptoms have a genetic cause.