EPILEPSY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does epilepsy mean? 

• EPILEPSY (noun)
  The noun EPILEPSY has 1 sense:

1. a disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions

  Familiarity information: EPILEPSY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EPILEPSY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("epilepsy" is a kind of...):

brain disease; brain disorder; encephalopathy (any disorder or disease of the brain)

Meronyms (parts of "epilepsy"):

epileptic seizure (convulsions accompanied by impaired consciousness)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "epilepsy"):

akinetic epilepsy (epilepsy characterized by akinesia)

cortical epilepsy; focal epilepsy (epilepsy in which the attacks begins with an isolated disturbance of cerebral function (as a twitching of a limb or an illusory sensation or a mental disturbance))

epilepsia major; generalized epilepsy; grand mal; grand mal epilepsy (epilepsy in which the attacks involve loss of consciousness and tonic spasms of the musculature followed by generalized jerking)

Lafora's disease; myoclonus epilepsy (epilepsy characterized by clonus of muscle groups and progressive mental deterioration and genetic origin)

epilepsia minor; petit mal; petit mal epilepsy (epilepsy characterized by paroxysmal attacks of brief clouding of consciousness (and possibly other abnormalities))

posttraumatic epilepsy; traumatic epilepsy (a convulsive epileptic state caused by a head injury)

procursive epilepsy (epilepsy in which a seizure is induced by whirling or running)

psychomotor epilepsy; temporal lobe epilepsy (epilepsy characterized clinically by impairment of consciousness and amnesia for the episode; often involves purposeful movements of the arms and legs and sometimes hallucinations)

reflex epilepsy (a form of epilepsy in which attacks are induced by peripheral stimulation)

status epilepticus (a condition in which there are continuing attacks of epilepsy without intervals of consciousness; can lead to brain damage and death)

tonic epilepsy (epilepsy in which the body is rigid during the seizure)

Derivation:

epileptic (of or relating to or characteristic of epilepsy)

 Context examples 

A drug that is used to treat anxiety and certain seizure disorders (such as epilepsy), and to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

(Lorazepam, NCI Dictionary)

They may also occur during seizures caused by epilepsy.

(Convulsion, NCI Dictionary)

Deletion of the wild type allele can result in autosomal dominant partial epilepsy with auditory features and the allele is expressed at reduced levels in brain tumors and malignant gliomas.

(LGI1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Clinical manifestations include epilepsy and developmental delays.

(Malformations of Cortical Development, NCI Thesaurus)

Signs and symptoms include epilepsy and mental retardation.

(Classical Lissencephaly, NCI Thesaurus)

Signs and symptoms include mental retardation, megaloblastic anemia, hypotonia, epilepsy, and hepatosplenomegaly.

(Arakawa's Syndrome II, NCI Thesaurus)

Mutation of the gene is associated with both Farber lipogranulomatosis and spinal muscular atrophy with progressive myoclonic epilepsy.

(ASAH1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

LGI1 mutations appear responsible for autosomal dominant partial epilepsy with auditory features.

(Leucine-Rich Glioma-Inactivated Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

A syndrome characterized by frequent episodes of epilepsy during childhood.

(Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

A drug used to treat seizures (involuntary muscle movements) caused by epilepsy (a group of brain disorders).

(Keppra, NCI Dictionary)