Epileptic seizures can cause neuronal cell death, enhanced neurogenesis, axonal sprouting, dendritic changes, and reactive gliosis. Histopathological analyses have suggested that the initial insult and recurrent seizures contribute to the neuronal damage. Activation of mesial temporal structures is more likely to cause damage than that of other areas of brain; therefore, one of the consequences of prolonged seizures is selective neuronal loss in the hippocampus. The excitotoxic damage is considered the most important mechanism of injury but there is also evidence that programmed cell death contributes to neuronal damage.