Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026
Anteromesial Temporal Lobectomy for Medically Intractable Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: An Operative Study
Published on: August 15, 2025
Long-term experience with fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy in pharmacoresistant epilepsy: neurological and MRI
Christophe Rauch1, Sabine Semrau, Rainer Fietkau
1Epilepsy Center Erlangen, Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
Purpose:
Radiotherapy is an option in patients with difficult-to-treat epilepsy in which pharmacological and surgical alternatives have been exhausted. However, little is known about the long-term efficacy and side effects of radiotherapy in this context. Hence, we report for the first time on the long-term outcome (median 10 years) of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) in 11 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy in a retrospective study. Primary endpoint is tolerability concerning neurological and MRI findings, secondary endpoint seizure frequency.
Patients And Methods:
FSRT was performed in 11 patients with cryptogenic or symptomatic epilepsy from 1996 to 2009 using a conventional linear accelerator (LINAC) in seven cases and a dedicated NOVALIS(®) LINAC in four. The biologically equivalent dose ranged from 26.3 to 58.3 Gy (α/β=10).
Results:
(1) None of the patients developed temporary or permanent neurological deficits. No MRI changes occurred. (2)Treatment resulted in improvement of seizure frequency in seven patients, five of them had a decrease in seizure frequency, and two of them were seizure-free at last follow-up.
Conclusions:
If radiation is administered with proper fractionation, dose prescription and target volume definition, long-term neurological side effects are unlikely. (2) Radiotherapy has the potential to control the frequency and intensity of seizures in epilepsy patients.
