Common Causes Of Epilepsy

Infectious Diseases

Diseases like meningitis, AIDS, or viral encephalitis can cause epilepsy. In fact, infectious diseases are the most common cause of epilepsy, especially in developing countries. Diseases that attack the central nervous system can cause acute symptomatic seizures, which start when the patient is first infected and stop when the patient has fully recovered. They can also cause epilepsy, which is a chronic and on-going condition. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most world’s common viral infection that affects developing babies and causes a variety of congenital disabilities including epilepsy and various brain malformations. While most infectious diseases that can cause epilepsy are bacterial or viral, some are caused by parasites reaching the brain, such as cerebral malaria and neurocysticercosis. The latter is caused by tapeworm larvae forming cysts in the brain.