Seahorse and Epilepsy?

Interesting fact:

Did you know sea horses are a mascot for epilepsy?

The International Bureau for Epilepsy has Campi the seahorse to explain epilepsy to children. 

https://www.ibe-epilepsy.org/campi/?amp

Why a seahorse? The temporal lobe of the brain, which deals with learning , focus, and memory, has a part called the hippocampus. The hippocampus stores memories. Hippocampus comes from the Greek words Hippos, meaning horse, and  kampi, meaning sea monster.  Sea horse.

On an MRI, the hippocampus resembles a sea horse. Temporal lobe epilepsy affects the hippocampus.  Due to  its sensitivity to changes in the brain, the hippocampus can often be the trigger point for seizures. There are many types including mesial and neocortical temporal lobe. Mesial focuses on the temporal lobe while the neocortical is the outer part of the temporal lobe.  Now known as focal onset seizures, a person can be awake during a seizure but blank out for short periods of time due to the brain being excited by various factors including hormones, heat, cold,  missing medicine, lack of sleep, and caffeine. The Epilepsy Association states there are 3 million people in the United States who have epilepsy. 

Sea horses are known to be resilient creatures . Living in difficult ocean currents, sea horses know how to adapt into their environment.  They are also associated with good luck, magic, strength, and  persistence. Epilepsy organizations like The Epilepsy Society have used the sea horse to teach others about epilepsy. Some neurologists give young patients sea horse plushies to help better explain epilepsy.  If you are new to the world of epilepsy,  be sure to check out the Campi video posted by the International Bureau of Epilepsy on YouTube to learn about epilepsy. 

Campi, the Sea Horse shares about Epilepsy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLvf4vJ9a5I

Other tools which can help you share about seahorses and epilepsy:

www.myglitch.org

They have an awesome article about sea horses and epilepsy. 

https://www.myglitch.org/post/did-you-know-mondays-why-a-seahorse-represents-epilepsy

You can also read more and view mri photos of the hippocampus on Springer, a medical journal magazine. The link below is translated from an Egyptian Neuroscience magazine. 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41983-021-00347-8

Be sure to put a seahorse emoji in November for Epilepsy Awareness Month .