Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a disorder marked by recurring seizures due to abnormal activity of nerve cells, called neurons, in the brain. In the United States, about 2 million people have this condition and as many as 150,000 more people develop epilepsy each year, about a third of them children.

Epilepsy may have many possible causes such as an imbalance of nerve-signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters or because of the brain's attempt to repair itself after a head injury or stroke that may inadvertently generate abnormal nerve connections. Other types of epilepsy run in families and have been tied to specific genes.

The Epilepsy Center at UCSF Medical Center provides a comprehensive diagnostic program, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), to provide images of the brain as well as electrical studies such as an electroencephalogram (EEG to record brain waves. Our treatments include medication, brain surgery, vagus nerve stimulation and experimental therapies that involve drugs, devices and surgery.

Patients also have the opportunity to participate in studies, called clinical trials, to test the latest experimental treatments. Clinical trials make new drugs, therapies and surgical procedures available to patients before they're widely available to the general public.

For more information or to make an appointment, please call:
Epilepsy Center (415) 353-2437

You may need a referral from your primary care doctor. Please check with your benefits or health insurance representative.

See our video — UCTV, Real Player
Epilepsy — "The Sacred Disease"

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated December 3, 2007