THE CASE OF ECSTASY AND THE JERKING LASS

Use Triggers Epilepsy

THE HYPE on methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as
ecstasy pills among teenage barflies and club hoppers, is very much alive
especially in big cities.

Ecstasy, a synthetic psychoactive drug with stimulant and hallucinogenic
properties, can cause brain damage and lead to more serious complications.
It can also trigger seizures or convulsions in epilepsy.

Kelly B., a 19-year-old bar hopper and ecstasy user, learned this the hard way.

One Saturday night, Kelly and her friends went to their favorite Quezon
City hangout. After taking a dose of ecstasy, she poured out all her energy
on the dance floor, gyrating to the tune of adrenaline-pumping, club-mixed
techno-music.

After about 45 minutes of sweating and all, Kelly suddenly fell to the
floor. Her hands and feet went stiff straight, her eyeballs rolled, her
head turned to the right, and her whole body went into frightening convulsions.

People watched helplessly as Kelly jerked, her eyes twitching, for more
than a minute. Fortunately, a young doctor was also in the disco and rushed
to the hapless teenager. He rolled his handkerchief on a spoon and inserted
it between Kelly's clenched teeth to prevent her from biting her tongue.

It was the first seizure for Kelly in a long while, and it made her realize
that her lifestyle was actually the main trigger of her disease.

Still Baffling

Even with the advancement in medical technology, epilepsy remains a
complicated medical condition baffling to both doctors and researchers.

Approximately 150,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed annually.
Globally, there are 50 million estimated cases of epilepsy and more than
three-fourths of patients receive no treatment at all.

The earliest discussion on epilepsy was during the time of ancient India in
the "Charaka Samhita," the oldest existing Ayuverdic literature on
medicine. Known as apasmara, which means "loss of consciousness," epilepsy
was considered a disease in this ancient medical literature.

During the time of Hippocrates up to the Middle Ages, people with epilepsy
were viewed with fear, suspicion and misunderstanding. They were socially
stigmatized in almost all parts of Europe. People believed that epilepsy
was a curse from God. They were treated as outcasts and punished much like
lunatics and criminals.

In the 19th century, neurology emerged as a new discipline distinct from
psychiatry, and the concept of epilepsy as a brain disorder became more
widely accepted in the western world. Since then, the prevalent
misconception that epilepsy was a "providential curse" was debunked.

If it's any consolation, epileptics are in good company. Many prominent
people with epilepsy proved that the disease was not an absolute barrier to
achieving great things. Among them were Julius Caesar, Czar Peter the Great
of Russia, Pope Pius IX, Russian writer Feodor Dostoevsky and English poet
Lord Byron.