[Epilepsy treatment by vagal stimulation].
BACKGROUND
Vagal nerve stimulation is the latest therapeutic modality for the treatment of epilepsy. It consists of a lead implanted in the left vagal nerve which is connected to a subcutaneous stimulator implanted in the left axillary or pectorial region.


METHODS
The stimulator is programmed to intermittently stimulate the vagal nerve throughout the day and a magnet also allows the patient to control the stimulation from the outside. This treatment has been used in patients with intractable partial seizures who are not candidates for epilepsy surgery. The results reported have varied but in general the procedure appears promising with at least 50% of the implanted having over 50% improvement in their seizure frequency and many having complete control without significant side effects.


CONCLUSIONS
Further review of the results are still needed to fully determine the true value of this treatment and to identify the subgroups of patients which will benefit the most.
Alvarez
L A
LA
Departamento de Neurociencia, Miami Children's Hospital, Fl. 33155, USA. LAlvarezEp@aol.com
Dean
P
P
Jayakar
P
P
Duchowny
M
M
Resnick
T
T
Dunoyer
C
C
Koh
S
S
D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*