Ictal tachycardia: the head-heart connection.

Epileptic seizures can lead to changes in autonomic function affecting the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems. Changes in cardiac signals are potential biomarkers that may provide an extra-cerebral indicator of ictal onset in some patients. Heart rate can be measured easily when compared to other biomarkers that are commonly associated with seizures (e.

Clinical outcomes, quality of life, and costs associated with implantation of vagus nerve stimulation therapy in pediatric patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Background: VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy) is approved in the USA to treat refractory epilepsy as adjunctive to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients ≥12 years with complex partial seizures.

Aims: To evaluate clinical outcomes, quality-adjusted life years (QALY), and costs associated with VNS in pediatric patients with drug-resistant epilepsy in a real-world setting.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using Medicaid data (USA).

Clinical and economic impact of vagus nerve stimulation therapy in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

We evaluated long-term medical and economic benefits of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy in drug-resistant epilepsy. A pre-post analysis was conducted using multistate Medicaid data (January 1997-June 2009). One thousand six hundred fifty-five patients with one or more neurologist visits with epilepsy diagnoses (ICD-9 345.