Epilepsy
New England Neurological Associates offers a number of approaches to the management of epilepsy. These include functional neurosurgery which may help alleviate symptoms, as well as 24-hour monitoring and testing to determine approaches to medical management.
New England Neurological Associates and Lawrence General Hospital have jointly developed the New England Epilepsy Institute. This program, located within Lawrence General Hospital, provides Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire residents with the most sophisticated multidisciplinary approaches and advanced technology for patients with seizure disorders.
The New England Epilepsy Institute specializes in treating patients with poorly controlled seizure disorders or with unusual seizures that may resemble fainting, panic attacks and other types of spells. Treatment generally begins with a neurological evaluation by the epileptologist, a neurologist with advanced training in treating seizure disorders.
Additional tests and evaluations will be recommended as appropriate. Other services available at the Institute include inpatient, outpatient and at-home electroencephalography (EEG), neuropsychological testing of memory, language and other abilities, psychiatric, psychological care and vocational counseling.
The Institute also provides educational services for lectures and teaching session for employees, schools and community organizations.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Intractable Epilepsy Patients -- For difficult to control seizure disorders, NENA offers implantation of the vagus nerve stimulator (VNS). This device may be implanted in patients with epilepsy who respond poorly to, or have poor tolerance for, multiple anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) and who are not surgical candidates. The stimulator is a programmable, implantable device that delivers intermittent electrical stimuli to the vagus nerve in the neck. This may lead to reduced frequency of seizures or seizures of lessened intensity or shorter duration, possibly leading to reduced dependence on AED regimens and improved mental awareness and energy. The stimulator device is implanted under the direction of a team consisting of the NENA neurologist/epileptologist and a NENA neurosurgeon. The procedure is usually done under general anesthesia, and the patient generally returns home the same day.
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