Vagus Nerve Stimulation Reduces Seizures in Dravet Syndrome

Source: Developmental medicine and child neurology

Summary

Researchers studied the long-term effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on people with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. The study involved 15 patients, mostly young children, who had VNS devices implanted to help control their seizures. The researchers looked at how often these patients had seizures over a period of 12 months and up to 10 years after the VNS was implanted.

The results showed that a large majority of the patients experienced a significant decrease in their seizure frequency. At the one-year mark, 93% of the patients had at least a 50% reduction in seizures, and this continued for 87% of the patients even after 10 years. Importantly, this improvement in seizure control did not depend on the use of other seizure medications, and the way the VNS was programmed played a key role in how effective it was.

These findings are important because they suggest that VNS can be a long-lasting treatment option for children with Dravet syndrome, helping to reduce seizures even when other medications are not changed. However, the study had a small number of participants, which means more research is needed to confirm these results and understand how to best use VNS for different patients.

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