Seattle, WA – The week of Feb. 26 to March 4, 2017 marks the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation’s inaugural awareness week known as Leak Week.

Leak Week (#leakweek) or Spinal CSF Leak Awareness Week is an international campaign to reduce the burden of suffering due to spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak by increasing the recognition and understanding of the disorder. Spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak is a cause of new onset headache that is treatable and curable but unfortunately, the diagnosis is often missed for years or even decades.

Leak Week events include:
* release of an animated video explaining that an “upright headache could be a spinal CSF leak”
* buildings and landmarks across North America illuminated in purple
* LIVE Q & A sessions with top medical experts
* daily educational topics
* local community events

Erich Herzog of Gig Harbor, WA, co-founder of the Foundation shared, “This health advocacy non-profit was incorporated here in Washington state in 2014 at a time when reliable information for patients and health care professionals was very limited. Our mission is to reduce the suffering of those affected by spinal CSF leak.”

“The most common symptom of a spinal CSF leak is an ‘upright headache’ that is less severe when lying flat and worse when upright. The positional aspect of spinal CSF leak often renders patients with a very limited ability to be functional while upright, so it can be quite disabling,” says Connie Deline, MD, co-founder of the Foundation and a spinal CSF leak patient. “Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis are common, as we see with many unfamiliar disorders. For this treatable and often curable disorder, faster diagnosis is essential to reduce unnecessary suffering.”

The tagline of Leak Week is #uprightheadache – could be a #spinalCSFleak. To learn more about spinal CSF leak, Leak Week, or Spinal CSF Leak Foundation, visit www.spinalcsfleak.org or email Dr. Deline at crdeline@spinalcsfleak.org.

– Spinal CSF Leak Foundation