epileptic research

epilepsy research

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Dec. 27 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests that one of every 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their life. That's a higher rate than previously believed and, experts say, highlights the need for more funding and attention to the condition. "This study is an important analysis of the potential number of patients of epilepsy in the United States," said Dr. Joseph I. Sirven, the chairman-elect of the Epilepsy Foundation's professional advisory board and a professor and chairman of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sirven, who was not involved in the study, noted that it makes two important points: Older adults are more at risk for developing epilepsy. A greater number of people will develop epilepsy during their lifetime than thought. "The study suggests up to 12 million Americans will develop epilepsy, which is a greater number than expected," Sirven said. "Moreover, this is a conservative estimate and not the worst case scenario as the lifetime risk would be higher in more urban areas. Clearly, more attention needs to be paid to this condition." The findings are published in the Jan. 4 issue of Neurology. For the study, Dale C. Hesdorffer, an associate professor of clinical epidemiology at Sergievsky Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, and her research colleagues looked for the likelihood of developing epilepsy among residents of Rochester, Minn., between 1960 and 1979. They identified 412 people with the disease during that period and calculated the lifetime risk of developing epilepsy at 1.6 percent up to age 50 and 3 percent up to age 80. Over the years, the lifetime risk increased from 3.5 percent in the 1960-1969 time frame to 4.2 percent for 1970 to 1979, the researchers found. "Our results highlight the need for more research using epilepsy surveillance data, especially given the aging population in the United States," Hesdorffer said in a news release from the American Academy of Neurology. "Such surveillance will also provide useful information for health-care planners as they address the service needs of people with epilepsy." Dr. Edwin Trevathan, dean of the St. Louis University School of Public Health and author of an accompanying editorial in the journal, said that epilepsy largely goes unnoticed, with only limited data on new cases. "As a result, we do not have good data to inform decisions made by our health leaders, and some of our best researchers are analyzing data that are 30 to 50 years old," Trevathan said in the news release. He urged additional congressional funding so that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can collect needed data. "Epilepsy has a major impact on public health," Trevathan said. "A national approach to monitoring epilepsy trends is desperately needed in order to monitor the impact of improvements in epilepsy care, to identify problems with epilepsy care that need to be corrected and to provide up-to-date data for researchers." More information The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on epilepsy http://about.me/mikekib1/bio Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Setting The Pace: NeuroPace Pacemaker for Epilepsy Media Inquiries news@uwhealth.org Patient Contact For more information about the clinical trial, contact the UW Hospital and Clinics Epilepsy Clinic at (608) 263-9578. Our Services Neurosurgery MADISON - In 400 BC, Hippocrates recommended diet and medicine to control the seizures his contemporaries called "The Sacred Disease." That combination would prove the prevailing treatment for epilepsy for more than 2,000 years. Today, the two to three million Americans with epilepsy have a range of treatment possibilities for their disease. After meeting with an epileptologist, six in ten will respond well to modern medications. For those who do not, a range of neurosurgical options offers the possibility of greater quality of life. The newest addition to that range of surgical options? NeuroPace. "This is an early device in what is sure to be a long history of brain pacemakers for epilepsy," says UW Health functional neurosurgeon Karl Sillay, MD. "Though it is still in adult clinical trials without long-term follow-up, there have been early reports of some patients achieving seizure-freedom." NeuroPace is an implant that provides responsive neural stimulation (RNS) to a person's brain upon detecting an impending seizure via electrodes in or on the brain's surface. This device differs from the currently FDA approved vagal nerve stimulator technology, which provides programmed stimulation to the vagus nerve outside the brain without the ability to detect seizure activity. According to UW Health epileptologist Raj Sheth, MD, RNS has the potential to make a significant difference for patients who have failed to respond to medication and for whom epilepsy resective surgery is not an option. "If we can identify where the seizures are coming from, we can at times resect that part of the brain," says Sheth. "For about half of those with drug-resistant epilepsy, however, their seizures are in or near a critical part of the brain, making surgery too great a risk." Slightly longer than a person's thumb, but only half as thick, the NeuroPace device is surgically implanted directly in a person's skull, with electrodes placed in critical parts of the brain. When the device detects EEG activity that indicates a seizure, it emits an electrical pulse to stop the seizure before it can start. Between 60 and 100 patients nationally have so far entered a double-blind clinical trial for NeuroPace. UW Hospital and Clinics is the only site in the state of Wisconsin participating in this national study, and already has placed one implant, with several more under consideration. While all patients have the device surgically implanted, some will have their devices activated and others will not during the trial. "Once the randomized portion of the trial is over, all patients in the open label portion of the trial will have their RNS devices activated," Sheth says. The clinical trial is not open to children. To be considered, patients must: Be between the ages of 18 and 70 Experience disabling motor simple partial seizures, complex partial seizures, and/or secondarily generalized seizures Have failed treatment with a minimum of two antiepileptic medications Have experienced an average of three or more seizures every 28 days for three consecutive 28-day periods, and Have no more than two epileptogenic regions in the brain. Date Published: 03/10/2008