View clinical trials related to Drug Resistant Epilepsy.
Filter by:The main goal of this study is to evaluate the additional value of EEG-fMRI method in the presurgical evaluation of focal intractable epilepsy. To consider a patient for surgery, the main difficulty is to define accurately the epileptogenic zone. This definition is complex and is often supported by several types of exploration (MRI, FDG PET, neuropsychological testing, video-EEG...). In this study we will evaluate the adding value of the simultaneous recording of EEG and fMRI in the epileptogenic zone definition.
Focal epilepsy is associated with widespread alterations in structural brain connectivity, often present at the disease onset and related to learning disabilities. Whether ongoing seizure activity contributes to network pathology is a matter of debate. This study intends to measure the impact of seizures on structural connectivity on a local and on a global level. In children examined with intracerebral electrodes to evaluate whether a surgical cure can be proposed, we combine intracerebral stereotactic electroencephalography (EEG) recordings with diffusion weighted imaging of white matter fibers. On the local level, the study will quantify the number of deficient connections in the seizure onset zone. On a global level, the study will compare the white matter fibers of the left and right hemisphere to probe whether physiological language lateralization is preserved.
Children with refractory epilepsy who are candidates for a treatment with vagus nerve stimulation will be prospectively randomized into 2 arms. Vagus nerve stimulation parameters are programmed and adjusted during outpatient clinic visits, within the normal clinical practice.
This study will consider the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet (high-fat, low-carbohydrate, and moderate protein) in treating epilepsy. Investigators enroll a group of eligible epileptic children and adolescent who have been referred from epilepsy center to our clinic and prescribe them ketogenic diet.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether omega-3 is effective in the treatment of medically intractable epilepsy as adjunctive therapy.
To determine the utility of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging in the preoperative workup of children with intractable epilepsy referred for surgery.
Evaluate the long-term clinical effectiveness and safety of the PINS Deep Brain Stimulation to patients with refractory epilepsy.
Background: - The blood-brain barrier separates the brain from the rest of the body. Epilepsy is a neurological disease that causes seizures. It can affect this barrier. Researchers think a contrast agent called mangafodipir might be better able to show areas of the brain that epilepsy affects. Objective: - To see if mangafodipir is well tolerated and safe. To see if it can show, on an MRI, areas of the brain that epilepsy affects. Eligibility: - People ages 18-60 who: - Have epilepsy not controlled by drugs - Prior or concurrent enrollment in 18-N-0066 is required Design: - Participants will be screened with: - Medical history - Physical exam - Blood and urine tests - Participants will have up to 6 visits in 1-3 months. Those with epilepsy will have an inpatient stay lasting 2-10 days. Visits may include: - Video-EEG monitoring for participants with epilepsy - An IV catheter put in place: a needle guides a thin plastic tube into an arm vein. - Getting mangafodipir through the IV. - 5 MRI scans over a 10-day period: a magnetic field and radio waves take pictures of the brain. Participants lie on a table that slides into a metal cylinder. They are in the cylinder for 45-90 minutes, lying still for up to 10 minutes at a time. The scanner makes loud knocking sounds. Participants will get earplugs. - A final MRI at least 2 weeks after receiving mangafodipir. Gadolinium is given through an IV catheter.
Evaluate the long-term clinical effectiveness and safety of the PINS vagus nerve stimulator to patients with refractory epilepsy.
Background: - Drug resistant epilepsy is the term used to describe epilepsy that cannot be controlled by medication. Many people whose seizures do not respond to medication will respond to surgical treatment, relieving seizures completely or almost completely in one-half to two-thirds of patients who qualify for surgery. The tests and surgery performed as part of this treatment are not experimental, but researchers are interested in using the data collected as part of routine standard epilepsy care to better understand epilepsy and its treatment. Objectives: - To use surgery as a treatment for drug resistant epilepsy in children and adults. Eligibility: - Children and adults at least 8 years of age who have simple or complex partial seizures (seizures that come from one area of the brain) that have not responded to medication, and who are willing to have brain surgery to treat their medically intractable epilepsy. Design: - Participants will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, and neurological examination. Imaging studies, including magnetic resonance imaging and computer-assisted tomography (CT), may also be conducted as part of the screening. Participants who do not need surgery or whose epilepsy cannot be treated surgically will follow up with a primary care physician or neurologist and will not need to return to the National Institutes of Health for this study. - Prior to the surgery, participants will have the following procedures to provide information on the correct surgical approach. - Video electroencephalography monitoring to measure brain activity during normal activities within a 24-hour period. Three to four 15-minute breaks are allowed within this period. - Electrodes placed directly in the brain or on the surface of the brain to measure brain activities and determine the part of the brain that is responsible for the seizures (seizure focus). - Participants will have a surgical procedure at the site of their seizure focus. Brain lesions, abnormal blood vessels, tumors, infections, or other areas of brain abnormality will be either removed or treated in a way that will stop or help prevent the spread of seizures without affecting irreplaceable brain functions, such as the ability to speak, understand, move, feel, or see. - Participants will return for outpatient visits and brain imaging studies 2 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery.