Causes

Can epilepsy be hereditary?
Epilepsy and seizures are believed to be caused by a combination of genes and environment.

Genes are the basic units of heredity. We inherit our genes from our parents, and we share many of the same genes with our relatives.

As with all genes, the genes associated with epilepsy and seizures can be inherited. Factors such as the environment influence these genes in a way that may result in seizures.

How common is epilepsy?
One in 100 teenagers has epilepsy.

More than 2,000,000 people in the U.S. have some form of epilepsy. Thirty percent of them are children under the age of 18. A large number of children and adults have undetected or untreated epilepsy.

Epilepsy primarily affects children and young adults, although anyone can get epilepsy at anytime. 20 percent of cases develop before the age of five. 50 percent develop before the age of 25. It is also increasingly associated with the elderly, and there are as many cases of epilepsy in those 60 years of age and older as in children 10 years of age and under.

Why did it happen to me?
People start to have seizures for many reasons. In most cases, the cause of epilepsy is unknown. But, there are some known reasons why seizures start including birth injuries, head injuries, and infectious diseases such as meningitis and encephalitis.

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