title: Long-term outcome of anterior thalamic nucleus stimulation for intractable epilepsy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many patients with epilepsy have persistent seizures despite treatment with maximal antiepileptic drug therapy and are not candidates for resective brain surgery.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the effectiveness of seizure reduction after anterior thalamic nucleus (ATN) stimulation in patients with intractable epilepsy undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamus.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients included in this study had poorly controlled seizures, despite anticonvulsant medication, and were not candidates for surgical resection of an identifiable seizure focus. Fifteen patients with medically refractory epilepsy underwent the placement of bilateral DBS electrodes in the anterior thalamus. The seizure frequency was monitored and compared with the preimplantation baseline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The treatment demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in the seizure frequency, with a mean reduction of 70.4% (mean follow-up, 27 months). Two of the patients had a remarkable reduction of seizure frequency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems to be important that the short-term outcome of ATN DBS reflects the long-term outcome directly. The correlation between the seizure type, characteristics and anticonvulsant effects of ATN DBS did not exhibit significance because of the small number of cases. Therefore, a longer-term follow-up with a larger group of patients is required to fully evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this treatment modality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Yeouido Saint Mary's Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Shon
authors.forename: Chul Bum
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D020643:Anterior Thalamic Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D038361:Neuronavigation / Q000379:methods; D013995:Time; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants