THURSDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- An implantable device can accurately predict seizures in patients whose epilepsy is resistant to drugs, according to a study published online May 2 in The Lancet Neurology.
Mark J. Cook, M.D., from St. Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues surgically implanted a seizure advisory device into 15 adults with drug-resistant focal seizures. Patients initially entered a data collection phase to construct an algorithm of seizure likelihood. If the sensitivity of high-likelihood warnings was at least 65 percent, patients entered an advisory phase for four months.
The researchers found that there were eleven device-related adverse events. Eleven patients met performance sensitivity criteria and entered the advisory phase, with high seizure likelihood sensitivities of 65 to 100 percent. In eight of these patients, the performance of the warning device was better than expected by chance.
"This study showed that intracranial electroencephalographic monitoring is feasible in ambulatory patients with drug-resistant epilepsy," Cook and colleagues conclude.
The study was funded by NeuroVista; several authors are employees of the company.
Abstract
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