A senior consultant at the RVI has highlighted how our region is a "hotspot" for the condition as part of the Epilepsy Research UK charity's A Life Interrupted campaign.
With one in 100 people in our region having epilepsy, Dr Rhys Thomas led an eager team of runners from the RVI and Newcastle University last month at the Great North Run. The runners are raising money for the charity and highlighting how the North East has the highest rate of the condition in the UK - and some of the poorest treatment outcomes..
Dr Thomas a consultant neurologist and trustee of Epilepsy Research UK told ChronicleLive: "It was my first run and though went into it thinking I would be one and out, it was such an emotional experience and I was swept along. It's about one in 100 people in the North East who take medication for their epilepsy.
"It's high here for reasons we don't fully understand beyond the fact that you are more likely to have epilepsy in more deprived areas. But it's not something related to levels of alcohol or smoking, for example - we just don't really know why."
Around 40 runners were supporting Epilepsy Research UK - and Rhys said more than £12,000 had been raised. That money will support the research of teams in Newcastle - where PhD students and fellows are actively trying to answer the question of why our area is harder hit.
"As well as the North East hotspots are in Blackpool and Cumbria," he said. "We have double the rates of some of the posher areas of London. Epilepsy is something that impacts people throughout their lifetime and in that way it's different to many other conditions "There's a triple effect [in the North East], we have more of it, negative treatment outcomes are higher and more people are likely to die because of their epilepsy.
"Epilepsy is unfair and one of these reasons is that it affects some parts of the UK more than others; we have amongst the highest rates of epilepsy in the UK. Thankfully we also have one of the country’s foremost epilepsy departments at the RVI and a thriving epilepsy research department at Newcastle University.
"Both the NHS and University in Newcastle have benefited from significant investment from Epilepsy Research UK as we aim for a life free from epilepsy."
Rebecca Mee, Marketing & Events Manager for Epilepsy Research UK said: "We’re so thrilled the RVI and Newcastle University team are once again out in full force waving the flag for Epilepsy Research UK.
"Thank you so much to the team for their hard work, determination and continued commitment to raise funds for vital research into epilepsy."
READ NEXT:
- Horrifying' North East suicide rate is twice as bad as London's - amid further calls for Levelling Up of mental health
- Top Newcastle haemophilia doctor 'was lying' in complaint about 1983 infected blood reporting says journalist
- Whitley Bay nurse remembers harrowing leukaemia ordeal and backs campaign to catch killer disease earlier
- Newcastle heart unit tot Beatrix inspires Freeman Hospital builders to wear pink for Organ Donation Week
- Inside the new £24m Freeman Hospital building which is hoped will slash waiting times
