9/02/2024 – On the occasion of the International Epilepsy Dayi professionals from Parma’s healthcare companies meet citizens with two public initiatives promoted by the structures of the University Hospital of Neurology, directed by Liborio Parrino and Pediatric Clinic, directed by Susanna Esposito and by the Neurology operational unit of the Local Health Authority directed by Doriana Medici.
The appointment is for Monday 12 February from 10am to 4pm a Parmaat the information stand set up at the Maggiore hospital and others Fidenzaat the gazebo in Piazza Garibaldi.
Objective of initiatives, sponsored and supported by Lice, the Italian League against Epilepsy, And inform and raise awareness on this disease, which affects around 600 thousand people in Italy, of which 22 thousand in Emilia-Romagna alone, with 2 thousand new cases per year.
INFORMATION STAND IN PARMA
In the central alley of the Maggiore, in front of the Children’s hospital, the doctors Irene Florindo e Lucia Zinno specialists from the Center for the diagnosis and treatment of Epilepsy of the Neurology operational unit and the doctors Emanuela Turco e Benedetta Piccolo of Child Neuropsychiatry will be available to citizens to provide all useful information and deliver information material on the pathology with the aim of counteracting the misinformation and prejudices that still exist on the disease. How to recognize the signs, what tests are necessary for early diagnosis and the importance of targeted therapeutic treatment are the topics that will be addressed at the information point of the Ospedale Maggiore.
“The diagnosis of epilepsy is complex – explain the neurologists Florindo e Zinno – to obtain it, a careful analysis of both the patient’s family and personal history is essential, to be integrated with the results of instrumental tests. Furthermore, the social implications are also unavoidable, with the stigma that has affected these people at all ages for centuries, and this is why communication is important and strategic for us, as this initiative also aims to highlight. In our clinics every year there are around 700 first visits to check for epilepsy and around 1000 check-ups”.
“In our province, in the pediatric field – continues the professor Susanna Esposito – we have approximately 78 cases per 100,000 inhabitants with a higher incidence in the first 4 years of life, without significant differences between males and females. Early diagnosis, appropriate management from a therapeutic point of view and, in the transition between pediatric and adult age, continuity of care for the patient are fundamental, which we guarantee at Maggiore thanks to close collaboration between the outpatient clinics of the Pediatric Clinic and those of the Neurology. Every year, at the Children’s Hospital, we carry out an average of around 650 neuro-pediatric visits for epilepsy, as well as taking care of more than 200 children hospitalized with new diagnoses”.
GAZEBO IN FIDENZA
Also on Monday 12 February, from 10am to 4pm, at the gazebo in Garibaldi square he will be present in Fidenza with his team Claudia Giorgidirector of the simple operational unit of Electroencephalography and epilepsy at Vaio hospital.
“Epilepsy is recognized as a social disease by the World Health Organization – explains Claudia Giorgi – The Epilepsy clinic of the Local Health Authority, within the Neurology operational unit directed by Doriana Medici, treats over 2 thousand adults. Still too often, mistrust, discrimination and lack of knowledge of this pathology undermine the well-being and quality of life of those who suffer from it: at school, at work, in emotional relationships. The event therefore aims to contribute to improving the levels of knowledge, education and prevention of the disease in all sectors of society”. “With the opportunity – concludes the director – the booklet will be distributed with practical information on how to recognize an epileptic seizure and how to behave”.
Together with the professionals of the Neurology operational unit, there will also be at the gazebo Barbara Brunidirector of the simple operational unit of Health, Clinical and Community Psychology of the Local Health Authority with her team. “Dal 2021 – explains the Bruni – an implementation protocol for the psychology of epilepsy and psycho-socio-welfare integration is operational, the only experience in Emilia-Romagna, to promote a process of adaptation, awareness and physical, mental and relational well-being of the person with epilepsy and his/her family members.” The Fidenza event is organized in collaboration with the Municipality of Fidenza and the local one Italian Red Cross.
PURPLE LIGHTING
To draw attention to the Day, February 12, they light up purple – the color symbolizing epilepsy – the facades of the entrance pavilion of the Ospedale Maggiore he was born in Fidenza Town Hall.
HOW TO ACCESS
The clinics in Parma and Fidenza can be accessed with doctor’s request of family and reservation in the usual channels (toll-free number 800.629.444, CUP branches, pharmacies that provide the service, online via electronic health record).