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.
