Neuromodulation in drug-resistant epilepsy: A review of current knowledge

AdultPediatric
Written By Rodrigo Silva

Xue T, Chen S, Bai Y, Han C, Yang A, Zhang J.

Acta Neurol Scand. 2022 Sep 5.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ane.13696

The newest vagus nerve stimulation (#VNS) devices with “auto-stimulation” feature, AspireSR™ Model 106 and SenTiva™ Model 1000 (VNS Therapy™, LivaNova™), enable automatic stimulation of vagus nerve triggered by an ictal tachycardia of epilepsy patients. This study by Santhumayor et al. (Mar. 2022) followed 55 pediatric and young patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (#DRE) who underwent VNS Therapy at a single level four epilepsy center, and found out the patients with auto-stimulation VNS had a higher mean #seizure reduction compared to the patients with traditional VNS at 12 months post-VNS treatment (56.0% vs 41.6%). 

The study provided clinial safety and effectiveness evidence for the auto-stimulation VNS devices in young patients. Longer follow-up studies are needed to examine the increasing effects of  the auto-stimulation VNS in the future.

Rodrigo Silva
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Long-term results of vagus nerve stimulation in children with Dravet syndrome: Time-dependent, delayed antiepileptic effect
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Patient-Specific Characteristics Associated with Favorable Response to Vagus Nerve Stimulation