Abdi İbrahim Tower Lit Up in Purple for Epilepsy Awareness

Abdi İbrahim, Turkey's healing force, is lighting up Abdi İbrahim Tower, the headquarters building in Istanbul, in purple on World Epilepsy Day on 26 March to support awareness-raising efforts about the disease. Epilepsy, the 4th most common neurological disease in the world, affects approximately 60 million people globally and around 700,000 people in Turkey. Abdi İbrahim, Turkey's healing force, is illuminating its headquarters building in Istanbul Maslak in purple, the symbolic color of the disease, throughout the week of 26 March on World Epilepsy Day to raise awareness. Epilepsy, which results from abnormal electrical activity of nerve cells affecting the brain, causes seizures that are recurring in nature and occur at random times. Epilepsy, the 4th most common neurological disease, also affects 1 percent of the world's population—nearly 60 million people. Turkey has approximately 700,000 epilepsy patients. Epilepsy, due to prejudices and misinformation, can lead to the stigmatization of patients, their exclusion from society, disruption of their work and education, and even prevent them from forming families. However, when treated, the disease can be controlled in approximately 70 percent of patients.  

How were they affected by the pandemic period?

Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders characterized by seizures. Although seizures are controlled with medication in 70 percent of patients, misinformation about epilepsy pushes society toward prejudice. A recent study by Abdi İbrahim titled "Journey of Epilepsy Patients and Patient Relatives" shows that although normal life resumed after the pandemic, social isolation of individuals with epilepsy will continue due to prejudices, just as it was before the pandemic. According to research that yielded striking findings regarding what epilepsy patients experienced during the current pandemic period, patients' treatments did not experience any disruption during the outbreak, and they were not observed to face difficulties due to an acute health problem. While most patients stated they would continue to go to hospitals by taking precautions to maintain face-to-face communication with their physicians, it was understood that patients' epilepsy generally remained stable. Another notable finding from the research is that because the COVID-19 virus has no connection to neurological diseases such as epilepsy, epilepsy patients did not see themselves at risk.  

How did the idea of Purple Day originate?

The idea of Purple Day emerged in 2008, pioneered by 10-year-old epilepsy patient Cassidy Megan living in Canada. Cassidy chose the color purple because in some cultures it symbolizes loneliness and it evokes the feeling of isolation from society that most epilepsy patients experience. Through Purple Day events, every year on 26 March people dress in purple to raise awareness about epilepsy. Abdi İbrahim, the leader of the Turkish pharmaceutical sector, supports these efforts by illuminating its headquarters building in Maslak in purple throughout the week of 26 March.