Combating Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes recurring, unprovoked seizures. Your doctor may diagnose you with epilepsy if you have two unprovoked seizures or one unprovoked seizure with a high risk of more.

There are several types of epilepsy, each with unique symptoms, treatments, and prognoses. Some people may experience staring spells or sudden falls, while others may have violent muscle contractions or loss of consciousness. Diagnosing epilepsy involves several steps, often starts with a detailed patient and family history, neurological examination, Brain MRI epilepsy protocol, and electroencephalogram (EEG) if indicated. Bumrungrad specialists have extensive experience and advanced diagnostic equipment at their disposal.
 

Currently, treatment options for epilepsy include

• Anti-seizure medications, Bumrungrad neurologists work with geneticists to create a pharmacogenomic profile, which enables them to optimize the efficacy of the prescribed medication.
• Dietary therapy (like the ketogenic diet)
• Vagus nerve stimulation and deep brain stimulation therapies
• In some cases, surgery is required.

Pre-surgical Investigation to locate the epileptogenic zone include

• Video EEG epilepsy monitoring
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
• SPECT – Ictal single photon emission computed tomography
• FDG-PET for cerebral glucose metabolism

Epilepsy, being a complex and diverse set of disorders, necessitates a comprehensive and expert-led approach to its management. Anti-seizure medications, diet therapy, nerve stimulation therapies, and surgery, while effective, require precise customization and vigilant monitoring for each individual. This underscores the critical role of a multidisciplinary team in providing the patient-centric care you can expect at the Bumrungrad Children Center and Neuroscience Center.