 In 2002, the IU School of Medicine was one of only a few institutions nationwide to begin testing the effectiveness of a Gamma Knife to treat epilepsy patients. The non-invasive procedure aims 201 radiation beams at the precise location in the brain where seizures begin. |
Innovations developed at the IU Epilepsy Surgery Program have vastly improved the quality of life for many epilepsy patients in Indiana.
With that in mind, former patients, physicians and staff gathered today (Oct. 22) to observe the program's 20th anniversary celebration at the Indiana Cancer Pavilion at IUPUI.
The epilepsy program is the only one in Indiana providing comprehensive diagnostics, treatment and management of epilepsy, pre-surgical diagnostics, and social, psychiatric and psychological evaluation of patients.
It is estimated that up to 1 percent of the U.S. population--2.5 million people--have epilepsy and that 20 percent of those patients have the type of epilepsy that may benefit from surgery.
About 300 patients have been treated surgically for epilepsy through the IU epilepsy program. As many as 90 percent are said to have become seizure-free or have few seizures.
The epilepsy surgery team is led by Drs. Omkar Markand, Vicenta Salanova and Robert Worth.
Several techniques and clinical trials have been developed at IU to treat epilepsy. Highlights include:
• This summer, neurologists began a clinical trial testing an implantable electrical stimulator which seeks to disrupt circuits in the brain thought to cause epileptic seizures. Another trial got under way to determine if early surgery is a better alternative to antiepileptic medications in patients who have just developed epilepsy.
• In 2002, the IU School of Medicine was one of only a few institutions nationwide to begin testing the effectiveness of a Gamma Knife to treat epilepsy patients. The non-invasive procedure aims 201 radiation beams at the precise location in the brain where seizures begin.
• In 1999, the epilepsy surgery team created a computer model of groups of abnormal neurons in an area of the brain called the hippocampus where it is known that most complex partial seizures originate.
The IU epilepsy program has a four-bed monitoring unit at IU Hospital, and a pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit opened at Riley Hospital for Children in 2000.
Each year, more than 180,000 Americans develop seizures and epilepsy for the first time, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, based in Landover, Md. The disorder can develop at any time of life, especially in childhood and old age.
For more information about the IU Epilepsy Program, call 317-274-4974
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