Epilepsy, a neurological disorder in which patients experience recurring seizures, can develop from a number of causes. Genetics plays a role, while some people develop it as a result of conditions like stroke, tumours or head trauma.
But for 1-in-3 sufferers, there is still no known cause.
Could long-term exposure to air pollution and city noise increase a person’s risk of developing epilepsy? Building on existing research, Western researchers are exploring these factors and what it might mean to physicians treating the disease.
When a patient is diagnosed with epilepsy, determining the cause is important to their care, including treatment decisions, explained Tresah Antaya, an Epidemiology & Biostatistics MSc candidate.
“There is research showing that air quality affects brain health, however, only a few studies have looked at the relationship between seizures or epilepsy and air quality,” said Antaya, who is working with Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry professors Jorge Burneo and Kathy Nixon Speechley.
Continue reading at Western University.
Image via Western University.