Implanted Device May Predict Epilepsy Seizures, Study Suggests
By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- An implanted device that monitors brain activity may offer a way to predict seizures in people with uncontrolled epilepsy, a small pilot study suggests.
The findings, reported online May 2 in the journal Lancet Neurology, are based on only 15 patients, and the device worked far better in some than others. But experts said the results are promising, and should prompt further studies.
"We just wanted to see if this is feasible, and this study shows that it is," said lead researcher Dr. Mark Cook, of the University of Melbourne and St. Vincent's Hospital in Australia.
The prospect of being able to predict seizures is "very exciting," he said, in part because it's the uncertainty of the disorder that can dim people's quality of life.
If people know a seizure is coming, Cook said, they can avoid driving or swimming that day, for example. They might also be able to adjust their medication use.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which the brain's normal electrical activity is temporarily disrupted, leading to a seizure. Seizures can be obvious, causing unconsciousness or convulsions, but often they trigger subtler changes in a person's perceptions or behavior -- like a short staring spell, confusion or an altered sense of taste or smell.
Epilepsy is usually managed with medication, but for 30 percent to 40 percent of people with the condition, drugs don't keep seizures at bay. The new study included 15 people who were having at least two to 12 "disabling" seizures a month that were resistant to drug therapy.
Cook's team implanted each patient with the experimental device, which consists of electrodes placed between the skull and the brain, plus wires that run to a unit implanted under the skin of the chest.
That unit wirelessly sends data to a hand-held device that flashes a red warning light if there is a "high likelihood" of an impending seizure. (A white light signals a "moderate" likelihood, while a blue light means the odds are low.)
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- An implanted device that monitors brain activity may offer a way to predict seizures in people with uncontrolled epilepsy, a small pilot study suggests.
The findings, reported online May 2 in the journal Lancet Neurology, are based on only 15 patients, and the device worked far better in some than others. But experts said the results are promising, and should prompt further studies.
"We just wanted to see if this is feasible, and this study shows that it is," said lead researcher Dr. Mark Cook, of the University of Melbourne and St. Vincent's Hospital in Australia.
The prospect of being able to predict seizures is "very exciting," he said, in part because it's the uncertainty of the disorder that can dim people's quality of life.
If people know a seizure is coming, Cook said, they can avoid driving or swimming that day, for example. They might also be able to adjust their medication use.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which the brain's normal electrical activity is temporarily disrupted, leading to a seizure. Seizures can be obvious, causing unconsciousness or convulsions, but often they trigger subtler changes in a person's perceptions or behavior -- like a short staring spell, confusion or an altered sense of taste or smell.
Epilepsy is usually managed with medication, but for 30 percent to 40 percent of people with the condition, drugs don't keep seizures at bay. The new study included 15 people who were having at least two to 12 "disabling" seizures a month that were resistant to drug therapy.
Cook's team implanted each patient with the experimental device, which consists of electrodes placed between the skull and the brain, plus wires that run to a unit implanted under the skin of the chest.
That unit wirelessly sends data to a hand-held device that flashes a red warning light if there is a "high likelihood" of an impending seizure. (A white light signals a "moderate" likelihood, while a blue light means the odds are low.)
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