GC: n

S: ILAE – http://www.ilae.org/Visitors/Centre/documents/Definition2014-RFisher.pdf (last access: 15 December 2016); NINDS – http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/epilepsy/epilepsy.htm (last access: 15 December 2016).

N: 1. From 1570s, from Middle French epilepsie(16c.), from Late Latin epilepsia, from Greek epilepsis “epilepsy,” literally a seizure, from epilambanein “to lay hold of, seize upon, attack”, especially of diseases, but also of events, armies, etc. from epi ”upon” + lepsis “seizure,” from leps-, future stem of lambanein “take hold of ,grasp”.

2. Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures and by the neurobiologic, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of this condition.

3. Epilepsy is one of the most common serious diseases affecting more than 50 million people globally. There are many difference causes for epilepsy including genetic disposition, head trauma or brain tumour.

4. People with epilepsy have a 3-6 times greater risk of premature death. Many of the deaths from epilepsy could be prevented with appropriate medication and treatment.

5. Collocations:

• Noun: cost of, prevention of, treatment of.
• Adj.: severe.
• Verbs: afflict(ed) with, control, diagnose(d) from, have, suffer(ing) from, treat.

6. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention, among others, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (1599) a play by William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

S: 1. Etymonline – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=epilepsy (last access: 15 December 2016). 2. NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15816939 (last access: 15 December 2016). 3 & 4. IBE – http://www.ibe-epilepsy.org/ (last access: 15 December 2016). 5. – NOW Corpus – http://corpus.byu.edu/now/ (last access: 22 December 2016). 6. MEDSCAPE – http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/410682_3 (last access: 15 December 2016).

SYN:
S:

CR: Alexander disease, disorder, convulsion, Rasmussen’s encephalitis, West syndrome.