Epilepsy

UCSF specialists have a long history of pioneering imaging, medical and surgical techniques that are changing what is possible for patients with epilepsy. Designated a level 4 epilepsy center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers, our comprehensive program takes advantage of all the latest diagnostic and treatment options.

According to the National Association of Epilepsy Centers, UCSF performs more epilepsy surgeries than any other hospital or medical center in the West. Surgical specialties include traditional open procedures for focal resections and disconnection procedures, as well as awake surgery, which optimizes both precision and patient safety through the use of advanced, interoperative brain mapping, which identifies and avoids injury to sites of language, motor and sensory function.

Minimally-Invasive Epilepsy Surgery at UCSF

UCSF Neurosurgery offers several minimally invasive approaches, including:

• Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG), a procedure used to identify areas of the brain where epileptic seizures originate.
• Visualase thermal laser ablation, also known as laser interstitial thermal therapy, or LITT. UCSF is among the few centers in the country with deep experience in this technique and has published journal articles that describe its use in standard focal resections for temporal lobe and hippocampus epilepsies, as well as in rare conditions such as hypothalamic hamartoma.
• Responsive neural stimulation (RNS), a technique in which an implantable device detects seizure-related electrical activity in the brain and responds immediately by delivering imperceptible levels of electrical stimulation to normalize brain activity and stop seizures just as they are about to start. UCSF is a world leaders in the use of RNS, with UCSF RNS patients seeing an average seizure reduction of 80 percent (surpassing the 48 percent to 66 percent seizure reduction reported in long-term clinical trials.)
• Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), another type of neuromodulation therapy where a device is installed that provides constant electrical stimulation to modulate brain areas involved in seizures. UCSF was involved in the original study that validated the efficacy of DBS for refractory epilepsy, and UCSF neurosurgeons have extensive experience with DBS surgery.
• Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), a procedure where a small electric stimulator is placed near the vagus nerve to reduce the frequency and intensity of seizures when medications aren’t effective.

To schedule a surgical evaluation with the UCSF Epilepsy Center, contact us at: (415) 353-2437 or [email protected]. For more details, visit our website: https://epilepsycenter.ucsf.edu/

Research

Basic science research in the Department focuses on the molecular, electrophysiological and genetic basis of epilepsy, as well as identifying new therapies, such as interneuron cell transplantation, and phenotype-based drug discovery using zebrafish models for Dravet syndrome and other pediatric genetic epilepsies.

• Baraban Lab
• UCSF Epilepsy Center Research