Treatment Options

epilepsy treatment options at the gw medical faculty associates

What Are The Treatment Options?

• The treatment depends on each patient, the type of seizure and other characteristics
• Medications are the first line treatment of epileptic seizures, but there are also other options - your doctor will discuss these in detail

Medications:

• There are about 25 anti-seizure medications available
• The choice of medication will depend on various factors including, among others, seizure type and location, potential interactions between different medications, and other existing conditions that you may have
• All medications have side effects, and your doctor will try to find a regimen that is most tolerable for you
• Special considerations in women and older patients – please ask your doctor

Non-Drug Options (to be considered if medications do not control seizures):

Ketogenic Diet
A doctor might choose a ketogenic diet for patients who respond poorly to medication. On the diet, patients eat foods rich in fats and oils, but low in proteins and carbohydrates. This creates a condition called ketosis in the body, which can help control seizures. However, achieving this reduction requires strict compliance with the diet.

Modified Atkins Diet
The modified Atkins diet (often abbreviated in the literature as “MAD”) is a change to the traditional “classic” ketogenic diet to make it less restrictive. Along with the MCT (medium chain triglyceride) diet and LGIT (low glycemic index treatment), it is one of three “alternative diets” used to treat patients with epilepsy.

Surgical Options – Neurosurgery
An array of surgical options are available and are based on the location in the brain and types of seizures you may be having.

Surgery is a very good option in certain patients and personalized to each patient’s unique needs.

Surgical options may include the following:

• Laser Ablation Surgery or LITT
• Implantable devices
• Focal Resection Surgeries
• Disconnection surgeries – Corpus Callostomy and Multiple Subpial Transection (MST)