title: [Surgical treatment of epilepsy resistant to drug therapy. A review].
abstract: The prevalence of epilepsy is 7-9 cases per 1,000 population, corresponding to 440,000 individuals in Denmark. Approximately 1/4 of these individuals have seizures refractory to anticonvulsant medications and most of them have an epileptic focus in the temporal lobe. Epilepsy refractory to anticonvulsant medication is an incapacitating disease with high costs for the person and the society. The main problems are polypharmacy with side effects, suspicion of neurodegenerative consequences and a higher mortality. The modern era of epilepsy surgery began more than 100 years ago and since then, the developments in neurophysiology and neuroimaging have made it possible to demonstrate the epileptic focus with relatively high precision. As a consequence of this, the volume of the resected tissue has diminished and the operative complications become less frequent. The somatic and neuropsychological effects of a cortical resection are discrete and compensated by a general improvement in performance. Surgical treatment of epilepsy should no longer be considered as a last resort, but as a realistic treatment in cases of medication failure.
authors.affiliation: Neuromedicinsk afdeling, Hvidovre Hospital, København.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rogvi-Hansen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alving
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dam
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Friberg
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fuglsang-Frederiksen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gram
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Herning
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jennum
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kruse-Larsen
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000601:surgery; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000601:surgery; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants
vernacular_title: Kirurgisk behandling af medikamentelt intraktabel epilepsi. En oversigt.