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Children’s Hospital Boston’s Childhood Epilepsy Program, a level four Epilepsy Center, provides the highest level of care for children and young adults with epilepsy and other disorders that cause seizures. The multidisciplinary team of pediatric epilepsy experts provides evaluation, testing, treatment (including surgery when necessary) and counseling. Children’s has more than 30 epilepsy specialists who see about 1,000 new patients and conduct 3,500 follow-up visits each year.
| Current treatment status for epilepsy |
|
Patients experiencing significant seizure reduction or complete seizure control |
| Medications |
60 to 70% |
| Surgery ∗ |
50 to 80% |
| Vagus nerve stimulation ∗ |
30 to 40% |
| Ketogenic diet ∗ |
30 to 40% |
∗ only for restricted group of candidates
The National Association of Epilepsy Centers evaluates the quality of specialized epilepsy care at various levels. As a level four Epilepsy Center, we offer the most complex forms of intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring; medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment; and conduct resective epilepsy surgery and recording with intracranial electrodes. Our faculty includes two board-certified neurologists with expertise in epilepsy, a clinical neurophysiologist and a registered EEG or certified long-term monitoring technologist. In addition to basic epilepsy care, they offer more complex diagnostic and treatment options, including:
Children’s offers comprehensive testing and therapy, including:
- advanced, 24/7 neurodiagnostic (VideoEEG) monitoring
- medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment
- expertise in implementing a ketogenic diet to manage seizures
- surgical placement and medical management of vagus nerve stimulation therapy
- intracranial electrodes and resective epilepsy surgery, including two-stage invasive monitoring, single surgery resection, corpus callosotomy and hemispherectomy, if necessary
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Discoveries detailing the physiology and biochemistry of a baby’s brain explained why most infants seem immune to anticonvulsants. This led to the development of new treatments specific to infant biology, including a pilot study of bumetanide now enrolling newborns experiencing early seizures.
- Investigation of a novel approach to seizure treatment called transcranial magnetic stimulation.
- Evaluation of the effect of frequent epileptic discharges during sleep and of their effect on intellectual function.
Patients who have seen a general neurologist and not gained control over their seizures should be referred.
Make a referral: 617-355-7970
More information: childrenshospital.org/epilepsy
Online: Read stories about Children’s epilepsy patients
Blaise Bourgeois, MD, director of the Epilepsy Program, epileptologist
Joseph Madsen, MD, director of Epilepsy Surgery, neurosurgeon
Mark Libenson, MD, director of the EEG Laboratory, neurophysiologist
Ann Bergin, MD, director of the Ketogenic Diet Program, epileptologist
Katrina Boyer, PhD, director of Epilepsy Psychology, neuropsychologist
Mary Poyner Reed, RN, director, Neurosciences Nursin
Cheryl Cahill, RN, MSN, clinical coordinator
Susan McNamara, MSN, CPNP, nurse practitioner
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