Seizures have a number of causes. Of those who have a seizure, about 25% have epilepsy. A number of conditions are associated with seizures but are not epilepsy including: most febrile seizures and those that occur around an acute infection, stroke, or toxicity. These seizures are known as "acute symptomatic" or "provoked" seizures and are part of the seizure-related disorders. In many the cause is unknown. Different causes of seizures are common in certain age groups. * Seizures in babies are most commonly caused by hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, central nervous system (CNS) infections, trauma, congenital CNS abnormalities, and metabolic disorders. * The most frequent cause of seizures in children is febrile seizures, which happen in 2–5% of children between the ages of six months and five years. * During childhood, well-defined epilepsy syndromes are generally seen. * In adolescence and young adulthood, non-compliance with the medication regimen and sleep deprivation are potential triggers. * Pregnancy and labor and childbirth, and the post-partum, or post-natal period (after birth) can be at-risk times, especially if there are certain complications like pre-eclampsia. * During adulthood, the likely causes are alcohol related, strokes, trauma, CNS infections, and brain tumors. * In older adults, cerebrovascular disease is a very common cause. Other causes are CNS tumors, head trauma, and other degenerative diseases that are common in the older age group, such as dementia. Metabolic Dehydration can trigger epileptic seizures if it is severe enough. A number of disorders including: low blood sugar, low blood sodium, hyperosmolar nonketotic hyperglycemia, high blood sodium, low blood calcium and high blood urea levels may cause seizures. As may hepatic encephalopathy and the genetic disorder porphyria. Structural * Cavernoma or cavernous malformation is a treatable medical condition that can cause seizures, headaches, and brain hemorrhages. * Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a treatable medical condition that can cause seizures, headaches, and brain hemorrhages. * Space-occupying lesions in the brain (abscesses, tumours). In people with brain tumours, the frequency of epilepsy depends on the location of the tumor in the cortical region. Medications Both medication and drug overdoses can result in seizures, as may certain medication and drug withdrawal. Common drugs involved include: antidepressants, antipsychotics, cocaine, insulin, and the local anaesthetic lidocaine. Difficulties with withdrawal seizures commonly occurs after prolonged alcohol or sedative use, a condition known as delirium tremens. Infections * Infection with the pork tapeworm, which can cause neurocysticercosis, is the cause of up to half of epilepsy cases in areas of the world where the parasite is common. * Parasitic infections such as cerebral malaria. In Nigeria this is one of the most common causes of seizures among children under five years of age. * Infection, such as encephalitis or meningitis Stress Stress can induce seizures in people with epilepsy, and is a risk factor for developing epilepsy. Severity, duration, and time at which stress occurs during development all contribute to frequency and susceptibility to developing epilepsy. It is one of the most frequently self-reported triggers in patients with epilepsy. Stress exposure results in hormone release that mediates its effects in the brain. These hormones act on both excitatory and inhibitory neural synapses, resulting in hyper-excitability of neurons in the brain. The hippocampus is known to be a region that is highly sensitive to stress and prone to seizures. This is where mediators of stress interact with their target receptors to produce effects. Other Seizures may occur as a result of high blood pressure, known as hypertensive encephalopathy, or in pregnancy as eclampsia when accompanied by either seizures or a decreased level of consciousness. Very high body temperatures may also be a cause. Typically this requires a temperature greater than . * Head injury may cause non-epileptic post-traumatic seizures or post-traumatic epilepsy * About 3.5 to 5.5% of people with celiac disease also have seizures. * Seizures in a person with a shunt may indicate failure * Hemorrhagic stroke can occasionally present with seizures, embolic strokes generally do not (though epilepsy is a common later complication); cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a rare type of stroke, is more likely to be accompanied by seizures than other types of stroke * Multiple sclerosis may cause seizures * Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) deliberately sets out to induce a seizure for the treatment of major depression. * Reflex seizure induced by a specific stimulus or trigger (extrinsic or intrinsic stimuli)
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