Generate single title from this title Advanced treatment options for epilepsy – HI Magazine in 70 -100 characters. And it must return only title i dont want any extra information or introductory text with title e.g: ” Here is a single title:”
Write an article about
Epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system, characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures that cause physical fatigue for the patient and social embarrassment for him and those around him. An epileptic seizure occurs as a result of a change in brain function, resulting from excessive electrical discharge from brain cells. During an epileptic seizure, brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures, unusual behavior and sensations, and sometimes loss of consciousness.
With a more precise medical definition; Epilepsy is a disorder that affects the central nervous system in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing recurrent seizures. The diagnosis is usually made when a person experiences more than one seizure. There are many types of epilepsy, and its cause can be identified in some people; But in other cases, its cause is unknown.
There are several factors behind epilepsy, although the fundamental causes behind this disease have not been determined. Among them:
- Low oxygen or head injuries during birth.
- Stroke or brain injury.
- Brain tumors or genetic conditions.
- Infectious diseases such as meningitis, AIDS and viral encephalitis.
- Increase in sodium or blood sugar.
Can epilepsy be treated?
According to what was reported by the “Web Medicine” website, epilepsy cannot be completely cured; But seizures can be completely controlled with medications. If medications do not produce a positive result or the severity of seizures does not ease, doctors may suggest surgery or other treatment to the patient. It was found that a large percentage of people with epilepsy who underwent surgery to remove the part responsible for epilepsy did not experience any epileptic seizures for 6 months in a row. Many patients also succeeded in getting rid of epileptic seizures completely for ten years.
This raises the importance of the tireless work carried out by specialists in the neurological field, including scientists, doctors and others, in order to come up with radical solutions to epilepsy that contribute to improving the health and condition of these patients and ridding them of this physically and psychologically exhausting problem.
In our topic today, we will shed light on some medical achievements in the field of diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, which we have collected from multiple reliable sources.
Removal of stubborn epileptic foci without surgery for the first time in the Middle East
Starting from the Arab region, specifically the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has achieved a qualitative leap in the field of epilepsy. King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh succeeded in eradicating an epileptic focus that causes stubborn, drug-resistant convulsions, using thermal radiofrequency. In conjunction with electroencephalography, and without the need for traditional surgery to open the head or skull, this is a medical procedure carried out for the first time in the Middle East.
This minimally invasive medical procedure, led by Dr. Ibrahim Al-Thubaiti, Consultant Neurosurgeon at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, aims to: To remove or neutralize the epileptic focus that causes recurrent convulsions, it negatively affects the quality of life of patients, as it prevents them from practicing their daily activities normally, whether in study, work, or even social activities. Repeated convulsions may also increase the risk of physical injuries due to sudden loss of control of movement.
This innovative medical procedure comes as an effective solution to alleviate patients’ suffering, improve their quality of life, and their and their families’ need to visit emergency departments, which increases the psychological and physical burden on patients and their families, and increases the health cost to the medical system, giving patients new hope for recovery from recurrent convulsions. Their suffering is alleviated, whether they are young children or the elderly.
Medical thermal radiofrequency technology is used to destroy the cells responsible for spasms. This is done by inserting a fine needle into the brain, without the need to open the head, which reduces the risks and speeds up the patient’s recovery.
The Epilepsy Surgery Center at Al-Kassassusi Hospital is considered one of the world’s leading centers in terms of the number of cases and the type of complex operations performed. He performed the operation to separate the epileptic lobe of the youngest girl in the world, who did not exceed 14 days. The center was also at the forefront of medical institutions that implanted thin slices to accurately identify epileptic foci. The center is distinguished by its provision of medical services to patients from inside and outside the Kingdom, and its ability to perform operations on children and adults alike.
It is noteworthy that King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center was ranked first in the Middle East and Africa and 20th globally, for the second year in a row, on the list of the top 250 academic health care institutions around the world, and the most valuable health brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East. This is according to Brand Finance for the year 2024. It was also included in the list of the best smart hospitals in the world for the year 2025 by Newsweek magazine.
Using a laser on the brain to treat epileptic seizures
Medicines do not control Seizures For approximately one third of those infected with the disease Epilepsy. Depending on the areas of the brain where seizures originate, laser treatment may be an option for adults and children.
Laser therapy is a treatment for epileptic seizures using a laser on the brain. The name of the treatment is Interstitial thermal therapy with laser According to what we reported Jimmy Van Gompel, MDandNeurosurgeon At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
How is epilepsy treated with laser?
Through a small hole in the skull, a pencil-sized catheter equipped with a laser is guided by a surgeon with MRI to the area of the brain where seizures originate.
“The lesion can be treated by heating it, which, if heated enough, exposes the proteins in a certain configuration,” says Dr. van Gompel.
Laser treatment is also a minimally invasive procedure, requires a shorter recovery time, and has a lower risk of complications and side effects, such as headaches. However, the downside to this treatment is that it may be slightly less effective in reducing epileptic seizures than traditional open brain surgery.
“If you have temporal epilepsy, we’ll start with laser therapy, but if that fails, we can do open surgery if necessary,” says Dr. Van Gompel. “Laser ablation is a niche treatment for epilepsy,” he adds. “We have expanded our surgical options at this point, as there are very few patients for whom I cannot offer additional treatment that might help.”
Stem cells: a promising treatment for epileptic seizures
Stem cells hold promise for new treatments, and are a special type of cell with two important characteristics. First, it is able to produce more identical copies of itself, that is, it is self-renewing; The second is that they can transform into other types of cells that perform different functions, through a process called differentiation.
Stem cells are found in almost all tissues of the body, and the body needs them to maintain and heal its tissues after any injury. Stem cell therapy — also known as regenerative medicine — promotes the repair response of diseased, dysfunctional or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives. This is one of the latest innovations in the field of organ transplantation, and is performed using cells instead of donor organs, which are limited in availability.
Stem cells have entered the field of epilepsy, through researchers’ work on them. In one study conducted several years ago, scientists found that a single injection of stem cells may be an effective treatment for some epilepsy patients.
It is believed that the treatment, called NRTX-1001It may increase the production of a chemical in the brain called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).GABAIt works to calm the electrical activity in the area of the brain that causes epileptic seizures.
The new injections contain cells derived from human stem cells, which can turn into any type of cell. They are grown in a special medium in the laboratory to stimulate them to transform into interneurons, that is, one of the types of brain cells that secrete GABAThis contributes to calming down the neural networks and electrical signals behind epileptic seizures, according to what was reported on the “Russia Today” website, citing the British newspaper “Daily Mail”.
How does this treatment work?
Under general anesthesia, the injection is performed using an MRI scanner into the part of the brain that causes the seizures. Patients undergoing this procedure can return home the next day after being given immunosuppressive medications for a year, to ensure that the immune system does not reject the stem cells. The transplanted cells need 5 to 7 months to start producing GABA In sufficient quantities.
When preliminary results of stem cell therapy were presented at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting in Boston, it was revealed that the first two patients to receive the treatment had reduced seizures by approximately 95% after a year of injections. Data presented at the American Academy of Neurology also revealed the success of the treatment In two other patients.
Through these results, the research team hopes that the new treatment, developed by the company Neurona Therapeutics (based in California), patients who do not wish to undergo surgery.
It should be noted that most current treatments for epilepsy patients include specific medications aimed at changing the levels of chemicals in the brain that control electrical activity. But these drugs do not work for about 30% of patients, according to the National Institutes of Health in the United States. This raises the urgent need for other alternative treatments, such as laser therapy and stem cells, to improve the lives of people with epilepsy and their families alike.
.Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6). Include conclusion section and FAQs section at the end. do not include the title. it must return only article i dont want any extra information or introductory text with article e.g: ” Here is rewritten article:” or “Here is the rewritten content:”