If you’ve ever had to watch a friend or family member suffer an epileptic seizure, then you know just how terrifying the experience can be. Seizures resulting from Epilepsy (affecting 65 million people worldwide) are brought on by electrical shorts in the brain and can also result in memory loss. It’s reported a new implant that has gotten the thumbs up from the Food and Drug Administration will be able to monitor and autonomously respond to epileptic seizures.
The surgically planted NeuroPace RNS Stimulator monitors the brain’s activity with wires placed in the area of the brain where seizures begin. When the wires pick up activity that could be the beginning of a seizure, they deliver “brain responsive stimulation” to interrupt the seizure before it starts.
While the RNS Stimulator helped reduce the number of seizures patients experienced, it didn’t remove them entirely in most cases. According to the NeuroPace press release, FDA reports show that 29% of patients experienced a 50% drop in seizures after a three month trial, and 55% of patients who used the implant for two years reported a 50% or higher drop in seizures.
Generally, doctors advise their patients to try a change in diet or drug therapy to combat the symptoms of Epilepsy. Even more drastic, doctors may look to remove the misfiring portion of the brain if it isn’t essential to a normal healthy life.
Of course, brain surgery in any form is never not a serious matter, for those trying to live a normal life with Epilepsy though, it may be a solution.