Dubai Weather As A Risk Factor For Epileptic Seizures?
The summer is there and temperature and humidity are rising. Weather plays an important role in many health conditions such as headaches, back pain, heart problems. So far, the fact that changing weather conditions can provoke a seizure was unknown.
Researchers from Germany just released a huge study showing that seizures are more likely when humidity was high and when atmospheric pressure was low. Humidity of >80% increased seizure risk up to 48%. Every 10.7 hPa lower atmospheric pressure increases the seizure risk by 14%.
Good news for the UAE: temperatures of >20°C decreased seizure risk by 46%.
Interestingly the effect was the most severe in the group who took only one antiepileptic drug, which could suggest that a combination of drugs has a protective effect. Future research is needed to verify this.
Patients suffering from seizures or epilepsy should be aware of the link between weather and seizure risk and they should monitor if their attacks are linked to any weather changes.
The study was published in the journal Epilepsia and can be viewed here: link
Epilepsy, Seizures, Convulsions – All The Facts – GNC Dubai
Epilepsy, Convulsions, seizures or fits are some of the most common neurologic disorders, with an annual incidence of 35 to 52 cases per 100,000 persons. It is a central nervous system disorder that affects the nerve cell activity in the brain characterized by the presence of recurrent, unprovoked seizures.