Program | Epilepsy/Diagnosis | EMU | Treatment/Surgery | Science/Research | Symposia/Coordination | Referrals/Consultations


Medical Treatment
Epileptic seizures can be controlled in approximately 85% of patients by anti-epileptic drugs. These drugs do not cure the underlying cause of epilepsy but merely suppress the seizures. Anti-epileptic drugs are prescribed according to the type of seizures that the patient has. Patients who do not respond to traditional anti-epileptic drugs may be entered into clinical trials of new or investigational medications not yet generally available. It is therefore important to note that the program also brings in new medications that, otherwise, may not be available in the region except under research or special protocols.

Surgery
Patients, who do not respond to medical treatment or who have intractable seizures, are usually monitored in the EMU to study their eligibility for epilepsy surgery . Surgery for epilepsy has been developing over the last 50 years and is no longer viewed as the “last resort” measure. It is being used earlier and earlier in appropriate cases. Today, surgery can be done safely even when the focus is close to a delicate area of the brain. This is due to improved brain mapping techniques and operative procedures. Some patients, for instance, undergo intraoperative cortical stimulation. Others may need to undergo brain surgery while awake under local anesthesia, a technique which makes surgery possible for patients who would have been excluded otherwise. This methodology was introduced in 1997 to AUB-MC and is currently in routine use. Of note also is that surgery for epilepsy can be conducted at any age and on children less than one year of age. All accepted surgical methodologies for the treatment of epilepsy are available at AUB-MC:
*Anterior and mesial temporal lobe resection for seizures that originate from the temporal lobe: This is the most common of all epilepsy surgery procedures.
* Resection of extratemporal epileptic brain tissue
*Lesionectomy: This is often done when a vascular malformation or tumor is found to be responsible for epilepsy.
* Hemispherectomy: This is performed when most of one cerebral hemisphere is affected due to a hemispheric lesion like birth defect, stroke, Sturge-Weber syndrome or Rasmussen’s syndrome.
* Vagal Nerve Stimulation: This is performed when Video-Long Term EEG Monitoring reveals that seizures cannot be isolated to one resectable focus. The patient is then considered as a candidate for insertion of the NCP (NeuroCybernetics Prosthesis) which stimulates the left vagus nerve once every 5 minutes or so, sending impulses to the brainstem and consequently decreasing the tendency for seizures and helping achieve seizure control. 		* Corpus Callosotomy: This is performed when seizures start on both sides of the brain at the same time and when the seizures are causing significant problems such as repeated falls.