Epilepsy is a neurological disorder, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, it afflicts at least 2 million Americans. While it’s not a disease in itself, it’s a manifestation of one of many different brain disorders. One of the common symptoms is recurring seizures.
The options for treatment have increased dramatically over the past few decades for people living with epilepsy. One of the key goals of treatment is to control the number of seizures a patient experiences, as well as limiting the short- and long-term negative side effects.
There are three main types of epilepsy treatment: medication, surgery and vagus nerve stimulation.
Medication
Some medications are generally more effective than others when treating specific types of epilepsy, but it’s usually the first approach that physicians take to control patients’ seizures. Finding the right medication is sometimes a matter of trial and error, during which the patient is routinely monitored by means of an EEG (electroencephalography) and sometimes with an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). In conjuction with anti-epileptic drugs, a high-protein diet has been proven effective in some patients at reducing the number of seizures.
It’s important to remember that even if a medication can control the seizures, other side effects like mood swings or drowsiness can make the drug undesirable. The development of new anti-epileptic drugs is an area of research at the moment, since nearly one-third of epilepsy patients don’t reap long-term benefits from medication.
Surgery
Treatment of epilepsy through surgery may be a practical option for patients whose condition is resistant to medication, or for those who experience negative side effects from medication. The goal with surgical options is to interrupt or remove the brain pathways that are responsible for epilepsy.
Surgery is only a viable treatment when the specific area of the brain where seizures start can be pinpointed and this area is not related to major brain functions such as speech or movement. Care is taken to leave as much unaffected brain tissue as possible.
Vagus nerve stimulation
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can be used as an add-on treatment for patients currently taking medications and for individuals not suited to surgical treatments. The vagus nerve is the longest of the twelve cranial nerves that the body uses to transmit information to and from the brain. The vagus nerve runs from the brain down to the neck, chest and abdomen and serves many organs such as the larynx, lungs and gastrointestinal tract.
VNS is implemented with a stimulator device, much like a pacemaker, that is inserted into the upper part of the patient’s chest. A wire is then connected to an electrode attached to the vagus nerve, which is accessible through a small cut in the neck. The stimulator then generates regular pulses of electricity to the vagus nerve, which has been shown to be effective in controlling seizures in some people. Patients can also stimulate the device manually in order to stop a seizure in progress or lessen its severity. VNS is often used in conjunction with other treatments, such as medication.
These treatment options, either used alone or together, have been shown to be effective in limiting seizures in most patients. New research into how the brain functions and why seizures occur are ongoing, which should give people dealing with epilepsy more options for improving their quality of life.
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Source: KSL.com
