Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the world. Patients with epilepsy have a higher tendency to have seizures — sudden, temporary bursts of electrical activity in the brain disrupt the brain’s normal function, resulting in involuntary changes in body movement or function, sensation, behavior or awareness. It is important to note that not everyone who has a seizure has epilepsy, but patients with epilepsy have recurrent seizures.
Epilepsy affects roughly 1% of the general population, and among all these patients about 1/3 do not achieve seizure control on medications. Once a patient has tried two or more medications and continues to have seizures, they are referred to as having Drug Resistant Epilepsy (DRE). Unfortunately, patients with DRE are less likely to control their seizures on medications alone, and should be evaluated by a comprehensive epilepsy center.
A comprehensive epilepsy center has a multidisciplinary team consisting of neurology, neuropsychology, case management and neurosurgery. All these team members work together to help identify the specific causes of your seizures, using advanced imaging techniques, video-electroencephalography, and stereo-electroencephalography. Once the source of your seizures is known, you may be offered a range of interventions, from surgical resection of the seizure focus, to neuromodulation technologies such as Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS), Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), or Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS).
For more information on Epilepsy and seizures, be sure to speak with your doctor or look through the Epilepsy Foundation Website.
If you think you may qualify as having Drug Resistant Epilepsy, use our specialist finder to find a surgeon near you who can help. You can also read more about the procedures mentioned on this page below: