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New "Closed Loop" technology shows promise in trials

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A report in Scientific American on July 3rd indicates that advances in technology may lead to new hope for those with difficult to control seizures. In Ireland nearly 40,000 people have epilepsy. While up to 70% of people with epilepsy can achieve seizure freedom with anti-epileptic medication the remaining 30% continue to have seizures that do not respond to drug treatment. This figure has remained relatively stable over the years despite advances in treatment and new drug therapies. 

Now a new implantable device may help reduce that figure further. In clinical trials of the Responsive Neurostimulation System, seizures were reduced in up to half of the patients. Research will continue at the University of Washington's School of Medicine to determine if the device can detect and eliminate seizures according to its Director John Millar. 

Implantable devices are already in use in epilepsy treatment with the Vagus Nerve Stimulator being used in difficult to treat cases with some success. The VNS is an "open loop" device which stimulates the vagus nerve intermittently rather than in response to any seizure activity.

The new development used in the Responsive Neurostimulation system is its "closed loop" technology similar to implanted defibrillators used in cardiac treatment. In the context of epilepsy, closed loop devices can monitor the area the seizure originates from, detect patterns of electrical activity in the region that indicate a seizure, and respond with electrical stimulation to interrupt the seizure or by cooling the area to prevent the seizure.

It is this detection capability and the responsivity of the device which are the most promising features of the new emergent technology, although its general availability will depend on many years of further intensive, successful testing.

Source : www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=implant-epilepsy-seizure