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SMOKING AND EPILEPSY
Kristina |  A ban on smoking in pubs, restaurants, shops,
workplaces etc. took effect on July 1st in England - on July 1st,
Australia, which has been at the forefront of a near-global push for smoking
bans for over a decade, saw a smoking ban take effect at pubs and clubs in
two of Australia's most populous states. Ireland and other European countries
have banned smoking indoors - while some parts of Canada and a number of US
States have strict controls.
How does this effect people with Epilepsy?
There are, as with most things, differing opinions
on the subject of smoking and epilepsy - the Epilepsy Organisation of Australia
says:
"Nicotine is both a stimulant and a depressant to
the central nervous system, there is no evidence to suggest that smoking
cigarettes or cigars can trigger seizures in people with epilepsy"
Wyoming Epilepsy Organisation says - "Smoking
cigarettes can also trigger seizures. The nicotine in cigarettes acts on
receptors for the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain, which
increases neuronal firing".
There is however a warning from the Epilepsy
Organisation of Australia who say;
"SOME NICOTINE PREPARATIONS USED
TO HELP PEOPLE STOP SMOKING SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION AS THEY CAN HAVE A SIDE
EFFECT OF CONVULSIONS. IF SOMEONE WITH EPILEPSY WANTS TO STOP SMOKING,
BEFORE BUYING ANY NICOTINE PREPARATIONS, THEY SHOULD DISCUSS THIS FURTHER WITH
THEIR DOCTOR."
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LOW- ENERGY LIGHT BULBS 'CAN TRIGGER EPILEPSY'
kristina | Energy saving light bulbs can trigger
epilepsy-like symptoms in sufferers of the condition, it revealed
yesterday.
The bulbs - soon to be compulsory in homes - have
caused dizziness, lightheadedness and other symptoms experienced in the early
stages of a seizure. Judging by the number of complaints to charities
and MPs, thousands may have already been affected.
In March the Government joined other EU leaders in
agreeing to phase out incandescent bulbs from 2009. The low-energy versions last longer and cut carbon
dioxide emissions. However, Health Minister Ivan Lewis said there has
been 'no assessment' of the impact on epilepsy sufferers.
In answer to a parliamentary question, he admitted
that the bulbs may also affect the 16000 Britons with lupus, an autoimmune
disease.
It is unclear how the low-energy bulbs are
triggering the symptoms as, though they do flicker, the rate is different to
that usually associated with seizures. The answer may lie in the way the light is
generated with light produced by low-energy bulbs having a different wave-length
pattern.
In recent months Geoffrey Cox, Tory MP for
Torridge and West Devon, has received around 20 complaints. He said
'If I have had 15-20 letters, there must be hundreds around the country affected
- even thousands.'
A spokesman for the charity Epilepsy Action said
it was investigating after receiving several
complaints.
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Epilepsy care 'scandal'
kristina | From the BBC:
'Almost half of the 990 epilepsy-linked deaths in England each year are avoidable, says a parliamentary report.'
Findings by All Party Parliamentary Group on Epilepsy.
We will include more from the report when the full findings are published.
Full Story at: BBC News
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2012 OLYMPICS LOGO AND EPILEPSY
kristina | Olympic chiefs were forced to pull a promotional
video featuring the new Olympic logo designed for the 2012
Games amid warnings that it had triggered at least 10 cases of
epilepsy. Experts said the launch film had led to a number of seizures -
it featured flickering shapes in stripes and bright colours and TV stations
which broadcast excerpts had to warn viewers to look away if they were affected
by flashing lights.
UK campaign group Epilepsy Action said it was
'extremely concerned' about the advert and warned that at least 23000 people in
the UK suffer from 'photosensitive' epilepsy triggered by images. A London
2012 spokesman said it had taken 'immediate steps' to withdraw the video from
the Olympics website and said the sequence would be 're-edited'. The Mayor of
London Ken Livingstone attacked the logo designers for failing to carry out
'health checks' before releasing the video.
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MISDIAGNOSING EPILEPSY -'Long QT Syndrome'
Kristina | The UK Daily Mail newspaper on 24 April carried a disturbing article about a 10 year old girl who had black-outs and seizures after which she sometimes stopped breathing - she had an EEG and a CT scan both of which came back normal, she was monitored by the hospital who eventually diagnosed epilepsy and put her on epilepsy medication .
Her parents were told that 'stopping breathing can happen during a seizure and that it was unnecessary to do mouth-to-mouth because people have an in-built
mechanism that automatically starts them breathing again" - her mother was told to wait 'two minutes before doing anything' at the age of 13 Becky stopped breathing after a seizure, her parents waited for 2 minutes as advised and then started mouth to mouth, the ambulance men and the hospital worked on her for
over an hour but, very sadly, there was nothing they could do for Becky and she died.
(This website with its knowledge of SUDEP would argue that; people with epilepsy having a seizure do not automatically start breathing during or after a seizure - please see the facts about SUDEP).
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Epilepsy 'master gene' found
kristina | Old but very interesting article explaining that Scientists believe they have identified a "master gene" linked to epilepsy and learning difficulties.
Full Story: BBC News
More Information on the same subject from March 2007:
Epilepsy Gene Research
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EPILEPSY COULD SOLVE MYSTERY OF BRUCE LEE, KUNG FU LEGENDS DEATH
kristina | (The Guardian, Sat Feb 25th 2006)
Among mysterious celebrity deaths, it is up there with JFK and Elvis. But the myth of Bruce Lee's demise in Hong Kong in 1973 may finally have been solved. The official cause of Lee's death was recorded in the autopsy report as cerebral oedema or brain swelling. This was supposedly due to his hypersensitivity to a painkiller called equigesic that he had taken that day. But further research suggests the Kung Fu idol may have died from an epileptic condition first recognised more than 20 years after his death.
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SUDDEN UNEXPECTED DEATH IN EPILEPSY (SUDEP)
kristina | “The gorilla in the living room that nobody wants to talk about”
(Dr. Mark Dichter, Dir. David Mahoney Instit. Of Neurology and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania)
For years, doctors have reassured epilepsy patients that seizures are relatively benign, while a fall during a seizure may cause injury, the surge of electricity in the brain does no actual harm, patients were told. But mounting evidence now suggests that repeated seizures can indeed harm the brain - or, in rare cases, even lead to death” (New York Times, Feb. 2003)
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THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE DOING GREAT THINGS!
Kristina | Read Tina's inspiring report from Arkansas, U.S., and how her son's epilepsy motivated her to start the parent support group P E A C E (Parents Educating Arkansas about Children with Epilepsy). 'After my son Logan started having seizures from age one I began seeking other parents who were going through the same thing. I found out that while there are a lot of groups and information on line, there are no parent to parent support groups here in Arkansas. Then someone told me that there would never be one because people just don't want to talk about it. Well, don't tell me something can't be done, because after much prayer and a year later P E A C E was born. My family is my inspiration and they bring me peace so the name seemed appropriate.'
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| FOR MATTTHEW - Epilepsy:The Information | Six years ago Matthew died of SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy). This website was put together and built by Matt''s family in order to help enable people with epilepsy to live their lives as fully as possible by giving them, their relatives and carers, honest, informative, up-to-date knowledge about the condition.
To date well over 100,000 people from all over the world have visited this site - we can only hope that we have helped to raise awareness about epilepsy and by doing this have dispelled some of the stigma and myths associated with this common condition. | |
| FACT! | In 2000 in the U.K. 1098 people died as a result of epilepsy (up 120), six times more than HIV/AIDS at 177 (down 18).
This illustrates the low profile, lack of celebrity support, and scandalously low investment in epilepsy research to find better treatments and ways of prevention."
(from The Fund for Epilepsy) | |
| Out of the Shadows |
WHO - Global campaign against epilepsy
Campaign Brochure
[pdf 3.44Mb] | |
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