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EPILEPSY
CENTER USES NEW TECHNOLOGY
FOR TREATING EPILEPSY
Epilepsy patients continue to benefit from the latest
technology in diagnosing and treating their disorder.
 The
Epilepsy and Brain Mapping Program's neuromagnetism research laboratory
is using a new whole head magnetoencephalogram (MEG) during pre-surgical
work-up for epilepsy surgery. This work-up enables the neurologist to
pinpoint the source of seizures in the brain and helps the neurosurgeon
to safely remove the area.
Magnetoencephalography
is an advanced technology used to locate and map normal and abnormal
brain areas noninvasively. To accurately record the brain's magnetic
fields, the MEG must be housed in a magnetically shielded room. This
special room blocks out all other magnetic fields from the surrounding
environment so the doctor can record only the brain's magnetic fields.
The Epilepsy and Brain Mapping Program (EBMP) is the only center in
the greater Los Angeles area that uses the whole head MEG. We combine
this sophisticated technology with electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), WADA testing, neuropsychometric testing, magnetic
resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and PET to more precisely localize the
point of seizure origin. Doctors at EBMP have found that combining these
technologies is critical not only in accurately irradicating a patient's
seizures but also in safely removing the seizure origin without disturbing
normal brain functions.
The program's neuromagnetism research laboratory is located at 10 Pico
Street, Pasadena, California. The laboratory's director and principal
investigator, Dr. William W. Sutherling, is a pioneer in the field of
MEG research. He is considered one of the nation's foremost experts
on the subject. The present MEG lab has been supported for 15 years
by funding from the National Institutes of Health. A specific shared
instrumentation grant makes the MEG available to other scientists throughout
the country.
While tremendous progress has been made, the MEG's potential is only
beginning to be realized It offers a tremendous window on the brain
to allow better noninvasive localization for epilepsy surgery and to
treat the devastating disorder of medically intractable epilepsy.
EPILEPSY
PROGRAM'S KETOGENIC DIET
RESULTS CONSIDERED OUTSTANDING
The Epilepsy and Brain Mapping Program's ketogenic diet
program is considered one of the best in the country. Now, new results
revealed in a recent American Epilepsy Society abstract indicates that
the center has one of the highest success rates for the diet.
In a study of 41 patients with intractable convulsive epilepsy (ICE),
73% had a significant response to the diet: reduction by half in nine
patients, reduction by 9/10 in 11 patients and seizure-free in 10 patients.
Jeri
Sutherling, EBMP's ketogenic diet coordinator says their success is
due to intensive one-to-one care between the diet program's nurse and
dietitian, excellent education of patient and family regarding implementation
of the diet and careful planning and selection of patients prior to
beginning treatment.
WANTED:
VOLUNTEERS AND DONORS
Epilepsy is as prevelant as diabetes but very little money
is raised each year for epilepsy research. Our goal is to raise these
critically needed funds. The foundation needs your help. Several research
projects on the ketogenic diet and the magnetoencephalography are underway
that need your support.
Pediatric Epilepsy Research: The main focus pediatric epilepsy
research is on the ketogenic diet. For years, doctors, nurses and dietitians
have witnessed the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet in both children
and adults but the reason for its success is still a mystery. No one
knows for sure how the diet works, how it interacts with the body to
prevent seizures. It is the goal of our scientists to answer this decades-old
question.
The
second project is to explore the ketogenic diet's effect on cognitive
functioning. Besides preventing seizures, it is believed that the diet
improves patients' cognitive functioning. Nurses, dietitians and neuropsychologists
are working to prove this theory and therefore establish the ketogenic
diet as a mechanism not only to prevent seizures but to improve cognitive
functioning. This finding will improve the lives of many young epilepsy
patients by helping them during their formative, learning years.
Scientists also are developing nutritional research on the ketogenic
diet to determine the diet's long term effects on a patient's health.
It is often debated that the diet's high fat content makes it a risky
treatment for many patients. Scientists will determine the diet's nutritional
safety, the effects on cholesteral and triglyceride levels and any long
term residual effects on the person's health.
Magnetoencephalography in Epilepsy: It is vital to have more
alternatives for diagnosing and localizing seizures noninvasively. With
the use of a new whole head 128 channel MEG, our scientists are continuing
to refine the use of several diagnostic procedures to do this. The MEG
also is being used in brain mapping of brain tumors and the sensorimotor
area.
Currently, researchers are developing an intricate process of localizing
seizure origin via the use of traditional means - video EEG telemetry,
WADA testing, neuropsychometric testing, MRI and PET - and adding more
noninvasive procedures such as the MEG, functional MRI, magnetic resonance
spectroscopy (MRS) and SPECT. By combining the noninvasive tests and
correlating the information researchers believe they will be better
able to localize the zone of seizure origin and therefore more safely
remove the seizure zone without disturbing vital brain functioning such
as language, motor and memory. In addition these new diagnostic methods,
scientists continue to collaborate with other doctors and researchers
from across the country to investigate memory function after epilepsy
surgery, attention and autism and the use of Flumazenil PET to identify
focal epileptogenic zones.
If you are interested in donating to epilepsy research or if you would
like to volunteer your time to help the foundation in their fundraising
effort please contact Jeri Sutherling at (626)792-7300 or (800)621-2102
regarding your charitable contribution. Please indicate the project
you wish to support when making your donation.
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