26 March 2017: Purple Day - World Epilepsy Day

World Epilepsy Day is an international event dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide, and is known as Purple Day. On 26 March, annually, people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness.

Cassidy Megan created the idea of Purple Day in 2008, motivated by her own epilepsy. Her goal is for people to talk about epilepsy in an effort to dispel myths and inform those with seizures that they are not alone.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the world, affecting 50 million people worldwide. In 50% of cases the cause is unknown. Epilepsy has many different causes, and determining the specific cause for any one person's epilepsy may be difficult.

Epilepsy is a group of disorders of the central nervous system, specifically the brain, and is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. Epilepsy can occur at any age and is not contagious – and is rarely fatal. At least one in every 10 people will have one seizure in their lifetime.

A seizure occurs when the normal electrical balance in the brain is lost. The brain's nerve cells misfire, either firing when they shouldn't or not firing when they should. Seizures are the physical effects of these sudden, brief, uncontrolled bursts of abnormal electrical activity. The type of seizure depends on how many cells fire and which area of the brain is involved. A person that has a seizure may experience a change in behaviour, consciousness, movement, perception and/or sensation.

In generalized seizures, there is often no warning beforehand. Generalized seizures can be convulsive or non-convulsive.

Partial seizures depend on what part of the brain is involved during the seizure. Partial seizures may be simple (with no loss of awareness), complex (with loss of awareness) or may involve both sides of the brain and result in a convulsion.

Epilepsy can affect a person’s daily life. Epilepsy can be associated with physical, psychological, and social consequences, and its impact on a person’s quality of life. Epilepsy can affect an individual’s education and employment opportunities, particularly if they lose the ability to drive a car or operate machinery.

Diagnosis is based on an evaluation of a seizure, a physical examination, family history, and clinical tests of the brain function and structure. Brain function is tested via electroencephalography (EEG). Brain structure is tested via a computerized tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) help control seizures. Seizures are eliminated in about 50% of cases and reduce the frequency and/or intensity of seizures in another 30% of cases. The remaining 20% of people may require larger doses of medication, or more than one drug, to control their seizures, or they may be drug-resistant. In a small percentage of cases, surgery is required. The surgical removal of the seizure focus (the part of brain where the person’s seizures start) can eliminate all seizure activity.

www.epilepsymatters.com

www.purpleday.org

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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