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[Vagal stimulation in the treatment of epilepsy]
J Iriarte1, E Urrestarazu, D L zaro
1Unidad de Epilepsia. Servicio de Neurofisiolog a Clínica; Clínica Universitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, 31008, España. jiriarte@unav.es
Introduction:
The vagal nerve stimulation is a new technique for the treatment of drug resistant epilepsies.
Development:
In 1997, it was approved in United States by the FDA to be used in adults with refractory focal epilepsies not candidates for epilepsy surgery. Its mechanism of action is unknown. The results in the controlled studies indicated a decrease of 30 50% in the seizure frequency in around 50% of the patients. Although more experience is needed to corroborate these results, it seems reasonable as a treatment for patients with difficult epilepsies, especially when the response to the antiepileptic drugs is poor or they are producing secondary effects, and the resection of the focus is not possible.