Epilepsy in Adults | Beaumont Health

Beaumont Adult Comprehensive Epilepsy Center

The Beaumont Adult Comprehensive Epilepsy Center is accredited by the NAEC as a level 4 epilepsy center. Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.

TREATMENT FOR EPILEPSY

It is important to begin epilepsy treatment as soon as the condition is diagnosed. A large majority of those suffering from the disorder can control their seizures with either medical or surgery.

Medication

In about two thirds of cases, epilepsy can be controlled, although not cured, with medication. This is frequently the first form of treatment used. As with any form of treatment, anti-convulsant medications prescribed are based specifically on the type of seizures and epilepsy with which one has been diagnosed.

Controlling seizures with medications can have tremendous positive effects on quality of life, including functional independence and driving. One area of specialty for the program is in helping patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

SURGERY

If medication does not control a patient’s epilepsy, he or she is considered medically refractory and surgery may be a viable option for some patients.

Epilepsy surgery is performed by a neurosurgeon and can be either palliative (to reduce the frequency and severity of seizures) or curative in some cases. This surgery usually involves removing or resecting the abnormal area of the brain that is causing seizures.

Patients with medically infractory epilepsy who are not candidates for resective surgery may qualify for a vagus nerve simulator or responsive neurostimulator (RNS, DBS) which also help reduce the frequency of seizures.