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Medical Health Encyclopedia
Seizures
(Page 2)
In some people, a problem that is passed down through families (inherited) affects nerve cells in the brain, which leads to seizures. In these cases, the seizures happen spontaneously, without an immediate cause, and repeat over time. This is epilepsy.
Idiopathic seizures are chronic seizures that occur without an identifiable cause. They usually begin between ages 5 and 20, but can occur at any age. The person can have a family history of epilepsy or seizures.
Other more common causes of seizures include:
- Tumors (such as brain tumor) or other structural brain lesions (such as bleeding in the brain)
- Traumatic brain injury, stroke, or a transient ischemic attack (TIA)
- Stopping alcohol after drinking heavily on most days
- Illnesses that cause the brain to deteriorate
- Dementia such as Alzheimer's disease
- Problems that are present from before birth (congenital brain defects)
- Injuries to the brain that occur during labor or at the time of birth
- Low blood sugar or sodium levels in the blood
- Kidney or liver failure
- Use of cocaine, amphetamines, or certain other recreational drugs
- Stopping certain drugs, such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines, after taking them for a period of time
- Infections (brain abscess, meningitis, encephalitis, neurosyphilis, or AIDS)
- Phenylketonuria (PKU) can cause seizures in infants.
Review Date: 03/29/2009
Reviewed By: Reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.,
and David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine. Previously reviewed by Daniel B. Hoch, MD, PhD,
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School,
Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital.
(5/29/2008)
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