Causes of seizures. Causes of seizures. Seizures are traditionally divided into intracranial and extracranial (reactive) causes. Intracranial causes of epilepsy can be separated into idiopathic (also known as primary/genetic/hereditary) and acquired (also known as structural/metabolic, secondary, symptomatic, cryptogenic). For prognostic purposes, it is useful to divide secondary epilepsy into static brain disease and progressive brain disease. Static brain disease implies that there is non-progressive damage to the brain resulting in a seizure focus, whereas progressive brain disease implies an on-going disorder that causes seizures among other neurological dysfunction Clare Rusbridge In Practice 2014;36:17-23 Copyright © British Veterinary Association. All rights reserved.