Final answer:
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. It can be a symptom of a brain injury, disease, or other illness. Seizures can often be controlled with medication or brain surgery.
Step-by-step explanation:
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. It is a condition of intense, unrelenting, life-threatening seizures.
Estimates suggest that up to three percent of people in the United States will be diagnosed with epilepsy in their lifetime. While there are several different types of epilepsy, all are characterized by recurrent seizures. Epilepsy itself can be a symptom of a brain injury, disease, or other illness. For example, people who have intellectual disability or ASD can experience seizures, presumably because the developmental wiring malfunctions that caused their disorders also put them at risk for epilepsy. For many patients, however, the cause of their epilepsy is never identified and is likely to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Often, seizures can be controlled with anticonvulsant medications. However, for very severe cases, patients may undergo brain surgery to remove the brain area where seizures originate.