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Outlook: I can't make long-term memories

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Hum Fleming (credit: David M. Benett/Getty Images)

14/05/2019 GMT

I can't make long-term memories

BBC World Service - Outlook, I can't make long-term memories

Hum Fleming has epilepsy. A side effect means her memories mostly fade after six months

Hum Fleming has temporal lobe epilepsy and a side effect is that her memories mostly fade after six months.

When British woman Hum Fleming was 13 she had her first epileptic seizure. It took a while to work out that she has temporal lobe epilepsy, and that the seizures had left a scar on her hippocampus - part of the brain that's involved in forming new memories and storing them longer term. This means that most of her memories fade after around six months. Hum hid her condition for years because she was afraid of people's reactions but started talking about it recently to try to raise awareness of epilepsy.

In the suburbs of Rome in Italy there's a rundown council estate called Corviale. It went from being one of the country's most ambitious architectural projects to an infamous mega-complex run by drug dealers and gangs. Right in the middle of it, there's a football pitch where a father and daughter, Massimo and Chiara Vallati, are trying to change things. Outlook's Alessia Cerantola has been to meet them. 
 
Elli H Radinger used to be a divorce lawyer in Germany but she quit her job to pursue a love affair with wolves. From being kissed by a wolf to becoming one of the country’s best-known wolf experts, she’s dedicated her life to studying the creatures. 

Image: Hum Fleming
Credit: David M. Benett/Getty Images

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