Treating Partial Seizures

Partial seizures are usually treated with medication or, in some cases, surgery or electrical stimulation of the brain.

Medication: Several drugs are available to treat partial seizures.They may be prescribed as a single drug, or in combination. Medication for epilepsy is designed to prevent seizures. It does not cure the underlying problem.

To get the best possible seizure control, the medicine has to be taken every day, on time, as prescribed. Stopping the medicine suddenly for any reason may cause serious rebound seizures.

Sometimes seizures continue even though the medication is being taken exactly as prescribed. Partial seizures, unfortunately, are often more difficult to control with medication than other types of epilepsy.

When medicines do not work and seizures are frequent, surgery may be considered.

Surgery: The most common form of surgery for partial seizures identifies and then removes a small area of the brain where the seizures are taking place.

Sometimes seizures stop completely after surgery; sometimes they continue at a reduced level; and sometimes the surgery does not help at all.

Medicine may be needed to maintain control, even after surgery.

If partial seizures are coming from many sites on one side of the brain and are spreading to cause sudden drop attacks, surgery to cut the connections between the two sides of the brain may be considered.

This operation, called a corpus callosotomy, is designed to prevent the drop attacks. The partial seizures are not likely to be affected. If the seizure site is in an area of the brain that cannot be removed, a surgical technique to cut certain connections between nerve cells (multiple sub-pial transection) may be recommended.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A third treatment option may be electrical stimulation of the brain via the vagus nerve in the neck. This new therapy is called vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). A small battery is implanted in the chest wall and programmed to deliver short bursts of energy to the brain.