“Pacemaker” for Seizures
A new device to control seizures, manufactured by Neuropace, may offer hope for patients who don’t respond to treatment with anti-convulsant therapy, estimated at more than 30 percent of epileptics. Those patients are sometimes eligible for surgery to the area of the brain where seizures commence.
The curved device is inserted into a portion of the skull and electrodes attached to the area of the brain that starts seizures, determined by EEG and brain imaging. When abnormal activity starts, the electrodes deliver an electrical pulse to stop the activity. This prevents the seizure before it starts.
This system is different from other surgical approaches, such as vagus nerve stimulation. That therapy constantly delivers electrical pulses. Neuropace’s device only provides a shock when required. A clinical trial to assess efficacy is currently underway.
Related stories:
May 25, 2007 Related topics: Quality, Safety, Errors, Psychiatry & Neurology