Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has provided new treatment options for refractory epilepsy; however, treatment outcomes of DBS in refractory epilepsy patients previously treated with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) have not been clarified. Herein, treatment outcomes of DBS of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT-DBS) in patients who had previously experienced VNS failure are reported. Seven patients who had previously experienced VNS failure underwent ANT-DBS device implantation. VNS was turned off before DBS device implantation. Monthly seizure counts starting from baseline to 12-18 months after DBS were analyzed. Five (71.3%) of the 7 patients experienced a >50% reduction of seizure counts after DBS; 1 responder reached a seizure-free status after DBS therapy. Of the 2 nonresponders, 1 subject showed improvement in seizure strength and duration, which lessened the impact of the seizures on the patient's quality of life. This is the first study in which favorable outcomes of ANT-DBS surgery were observed in individual patients with refractory epilepsy who had not responded to prior VNS. Further studies with a larger number of subjects and longer follow-up period are needed to confirm the feasibility of ANT-DBS in patients who have previously experienced VNS failure.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000502344DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

refractory epilepsy
16
patients experienced
16
experienced vns
12
vns failure
12
deep brain
8
brain stimulation
8
vagus nerve
8
nerve stimulation
8
treatment outcomes
8
outcomes dbs
8

Similar Publications

Aims: Drug-refractory epilepsy (DRE) refers to the failure of controlling seizures with adequate trials of two tolerated and appropriately chosen anti-seizure medications (ASMs). For patients with DRE, surgical intervention becomes the most effective and viable treatment, but its success rate is unsatisfactory at only approximately 50%. Predicting surgical outcomes in advance can provide additional guidance to clinicians.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) are often referred for phase II evaluation with stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) to identify a seizure onset zone for guiding definitive treatment. For patients without a focal seizure onset zone, neuromodulation targeting the thalamic nuclei-specifically the centromedian nucleus, anterior nucleus of the thalamus, and pulvinar nucleus-may be considered. Currently, thalamic nuclei selection is based mainly on the location of seizure onset, without a detailed evaluation of their network involvement.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Clozapine is effective in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. However, clozapine has its own (well-) known side effects. We describe a case of a patient who developed epileptic seizures after starting clozapine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Despite being the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, there are comparatively few treatment options available to patients presenting with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The ketogenic diet has historically shown therapeutic utility in treating refractory epilepsy, an adjacent neuropsychiatric condition, in children, adolescents and adults. The following review explores preclinical and clinical literature focusing on the therapeutic potential of the ketogenic diet and exogenous ketone body supplementation in treating common neurodevelopmental disorders.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Novel Phenotypes and Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in a Large Clinical Cohort of Patients With Kleefstra Syndrome.

Clin Genet

January 2025

Rosamund Stone Zander Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Kleefstra syndrome (KLEFS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by haploinsufficiency of EHMT1. The full spectrum of clinical features and genotype-phenotype correlations is currently not fully understood. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with KLEFS evaluated at the Boston Children's Hospital Kleefstra Clinic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!