Our Center
At NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, we offer the most current surgical and medical options in the treatment of epilepsy. We are also involved in clinical research and basic science research to better understand the causes of epilepsy and to develop better treatments. Complementary management approaches such as diet alteration, lifestyle changes and other complementary remedies are also considered a part of a comprehensive management plan.
An estimated 2.7 million Americans suffer from some form of epilepsy. Even under the care of general neurologists or epileptologists, approximately 25 percent of patients with epilepsy do not attain adequate seizure control, thus making their seizures intractable. People with intractable seizures often need more intensive and comprehensive care than is available through their neurologist.
Our center's primary goal is to help patients with intractable epilepsy achieve complete control, or at least a reduction in the frequency of seizures and/or the medical side effects experienced so they may lead the highest quality of life possible. To achieve this, we provide patients with a comprehensive epilepsy evaluation. This gives our specialists the necessary information to formulate a treatment plan, whether medical, surgical, or using an implanted stimulator. Treating intractable epilepsy patients based on anything other than a comprehensive epilepsy evaluation is simply guesswork.
Comprehensive Epilepsy Evaluation
A comprehensive epilepsy evaluation can include video-EEG monitoring, cognitive testing, other specialized brain imaging and procedures to determine the diagnosis and to prepare the most effective medical or surgical treatment plan. During hospitalization, anticonvulsant medication withdrawal is often necessary in order for the patient to experience seizures. In some cases, this may precipitate overt seizures (balancing the need to provoke seizures but not induce status epilepticus requires expertise and intensive care). Seizures are recorded with video and EEG and analyzed by an epileptologist. Large amounts of data are collected and evaluated by specialists who collectively determine the patient's course of treatment.
Evaluation for resective epilepsy surgery and implanted brain stimulators may include the implantation of intracranial electrodes, depth electrodes, strip electrodes or a grid electrode array to locate the seizure focus in the brain and its relationship to vital brain functions. Once the electrodes are in place on the surface of the brain, the epileptologist records activity to determine more precisely the location of the seizure focus and whether resective surgery is an option.
If it is determined that resective surgery is a viable option, the neurosurgeon will remove the affected brain tissue or lesion. Nationally, fewer than 1,000 patients each year require this double surgery, but this number is growing.
