The Yale Epilepsy Program

The Yale Epilepsy Program provides promising options for many adult and pediatric patients. Internationally known for clinical excellence and innovative research, this program was one of the nation's first and has evolved into one of the most active and advanced in the world.

Yale is internationally recognized as a leader in innovative treatment for medically intractable and new onset epilepsy. This multidisciplinary program includes adult and pediatric neurosurgeons, epileptologists, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, neuro-radiology and neuropathology within outpatient facilities; a six-bed adult epilepsy monitoring unit; a two-bed pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit; and a technologically advanced operating suite.

Neurologists work in collaboration with neurosurgeons and diagnostic imaging to deliver intensive and innovative therapeutic and diagnostic services to individuals with varying forms and degrees of seizures and epilepsy. Specialists perform intensive audiovisual and EEG monitoring for diagnosis and localization of the affected area.

Patients worldwide are evaluated in phases to precisely determine concordance of electrophysiology, cognitive testing, history, physical and neurological examination with advanced imaging, using MRI, SPECT and PET techniques. Many advanced MRI techniques such as functional MRI, MR spectroscopy and diffusion tensor imaging are performed on patients.

The combination of advanced diagnostic techniques available at Yale is not duplicated by any other center in the U.S. Each patient is addressed individually to determine which procedure or combination of procedures—such as the use of multiple different kinds of electrodes—is appropriate in patients being considered for surgery.

The state-of-the-art operating room suite contains advanced digitized imaging, computerized stereotaxy and sophisticated electrophysiology in order to perform optimal, yet safe, resections and to place intracranial electrodes for those patients who need invasive electrophysiological confirmation of an epileptogenic region.

Yale conducts research in all areas—physiology, biochemistry, basic science, and imaging, making this the most progressive program in the country. Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital are participating in a multi-center, FDA-approved feasibility clinical investigation of a responsive brain neurostimulator device for the treatment of epilepsy. The neurostimulator is designed to detect seizures in patients with epilepsy and to deliver mild electrical stimulation to suppress seizures before the patient has any symptoms. And Yale is part of a multi-institution consortium testing triggered deep-brain stimulation, a very new approach to treating uncontrolled epilepsy.

Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital are participating in multi-center trials that include a clinical trial for childhood absence epilepsy and an outcome of epilepsy surgery.

Several medical treatments are available to patients including antiepileptic drugs, ketogenic diet and other alternative treatments.