Deep brain stimulation is a promising treatment for epilepsy, reports the journal Epilepsy.
Epilepsy, also known as epilepsy, is the most common brain disease. The first symptoms most often occur in childhood. Paroxysmal brain cell dysfunction can lead to major seizures – the onset of seizures and loss of consciousness, in which the person may fall suddenly and be seriously injured. Less serious minor seizures are manifested by a temporary loss of contact with the environment.
Focal epilepsy means loss of control of a specific part of the body, and temporal epilepsy leads to temporary loss of consciousness and hallucinations.
The causes of epilepsy can be different – traumatic brain changes, meningitis, cancer, parasites, poisoning. Often the cause is difficult to determine. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), about 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy – 1/3 of which do not respond to antiepileptic drugs administered to them.
Researchers from Stanford University conducted clinical trials involving 110 patients who had electrodes implanted in their brains. These people did not respond to drug treatment. After 13 months, 41% of patients managed to reduce the frequency of seizures, and after two years this percentage increased to 56%. Meanwhile, in the traditionally treated control group, the seizures decreased by only 14,5 percent.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the surgical implant of an electronic device in the brain that sends electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain. Due to its invasiveness, patients must be carefully selected for this method of treatment (PAP).