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RNS® System

1 byte removed, 13:22, 10 April 2017
a correction
There are several possible scenarios with regard to the treatment of epilepsy. Epilepsy might be treated with medications (for example, Carbamezepine, Diazepam, Lorazepam, Topiramate etc.), diet (a hight-fat, very low carbonhydrate ketogenic diet), surgery (only if focal seizures persist after at least two medications or if it is identifiable brain lesions) or devices just like the RNS System. There are some different possible devices to treat epilepsy, for instance, the Vagus nerve stimulator (approved by the FDA in 1997) or the experimental devices not approved by the FDA: the trigeminal nerve stimulation or the transcutaneous magnetic stimulation.<ref name="NIH_The_Epilepsies_and_Seizures"/>
The treatment with the RNS System provides responsive cortical stimulation via neurostimulator connected to depth or subdural cortical strip leads. They are placed in the brain based on seizure focus. The neurostimulator continually scans electrocorticographic activity, detects abnormal activity and provides stimulation. The physician regulates and optimizes the parameters for each patient individually.<ref name="MorrellResponsive cortical stimulation">MORRELL, M.J. Responsive cortical stimulation for the treatment of medically intractable partial epilepsy. Neurology. Neurology, 2011, Sep 27, vol. 77, no. 13, pp. 1275-1304. ISSN 0028-3878. </ref> It always depends upon where in the brain is the focus of epilepsy. Seizures might come from different cortical location, that include temporal, frontal, centroparietal, or occipital lobe regions. <ref name="epilepsyFamilial Focal Epilepsy">PANAYIOTOPOULOS, C.P. Familial Focal Epilepsy with Variable Foci. Epilepsy Foundation [online]. 2005, Jan. Available online at: http://www.epilepsy.com/information/professionals/about-epilepsy-seizures/familial-autosomal-dominant-focal-epilepsies-2 (Retrieved 4.11.2016).</ref> But the RNS System is adjusted only for at the most two foci of seizures.<ref name="NeuropaceSystemUserManual"/>
So the treatment with the help of the RNS System is not intended for everyone. The patient must fulfil several conditions: he must have the focal (partial)<ref>According to International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) is the concept of “partial” replaced by “focal” to unified terminology of epilepsies</ref> seizures, has average three or more disabling seizures per month (over the three most recent month), and he has to be resistant to the medications or diet (drug resistant is in the case of RNS System defined according to ILAE as a failure to control seizures after two seizures medications).

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