article_snippet: Epilepsy, which affects about one per cent of the population, is due to damage to the tissues of the brain which causes disruption in communication between nerve cells.
article_snippet: People with epilepsy have a tendency to recurrent seizures and the type and severity depends on the part of the brain damaged.
article_snippet: Alongside drugs known as anti-convulsants, management of the condition involves a healthy lifestyle that includes regular sleeping patterns.
article_snippet: his sister rejected most anti-convulsants because of the side effects.
article_snippet: Dr John Jacob, consultant neurologist at Milton Keynes and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trusts, and BMI Saxon Clinic in Milton Keynes, says: ‘Anti convulsants have long been the mainstay of treatment for epilepsy no matter what form Anti convulsants takes.
article_snippet: This is in part because of the very small risk of death when the seizure is prolonged or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.
article_snippet: Seizures typically last just a few moments but in severe cases, they can occur in quick succession, or continuously – and any episode that lasts for more than five minutes requires urgent treatment as there is a risk of brain damage.
article_snippet: ‘Such seizures are often triggered by something,’ says Professor Ley Sander, Director of the Epilepsy Society, Professor of Neurology and Clinical Epilepsy and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at University College London.