Electromagnetic Stimulation on Patients with Epilepsy

Dr. Joel Voss discussed his research on the neurological effects associating with long-lasting memory. His research demonstrated the linkage of improving memory through multiple-day electromagnetic stimulation. Voss’s research assessed electromagnetic stimulation of rTMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) which targeted the HPM network. These findings suggest the effective implications that magnetic stimulation have on the functions of memory. His reports indicate that improvements in memory lasted up to ~2 weeks after stimulation.  While his methods aim at improving memory precision, each assessment performed on his participants was collected with electroencephalogram (EEG) as well. While electromagnetic stimulation demonstrated improvement on brain network associated with long-lasting memory, this method is used as treatment for patients with epilepsy as well.

In a recent study, JAMA Neurology demonstrated the effective treatment of continuous electrical stimulation on patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a central nervous system disorder that occurs when the nerve cell activity is disrupted, causing seizures. According the World Health Organization, approximately 50 million people worldwide have this neurological disorder. Patients experiencing seizures show signs and symptoms of: temporary confusion, staring spell, uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs, and loss of consciousness. While many seek surgery and medication, patient with drug-resistant epilepsy limits their treatment. Drug-resistant focal epilepsy may even occur in areas of the brain that controls the neurological functions of speech, language, vision, sensation, or movement. For this reason, resective surgery is not an option for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

However, non-invasive electromagnetic stimulation has proven to be effective as a treatment option of those patients with epilepsy, especially drug-resistant focal epilepsy. To accurately grid the seizures occurring in these patients, electrical contacts is placed on the brain of these patients to record the interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) affected by epilepsy. IEDs are electrical discharges that are used as biomarkers to locate areas of the brain that correlates to seizures. Prior to the stimulation, the IED rate reduced significantly; thus, the immediate reduction in IED rate suggest that electromagnetic stimulation effectively treats patients with epilepsy. Out of the 13 patients that participated in the study, a large percentage of the patients reported improvement of epilepsy severity, life satisfaction, reduction of seizures, and free of disabling seizures. Overall, continuous electromagnetic stimulation in the brain produces changes on neurological activity and has implications on the treatments for patients with neurological disorders.

Works Cited

“Continuous Electrical Brain Stimulation Helps Patients with Epilepsy.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 19 Sept. 2016, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160919220132.htm.

Lundstrom, Brian Nils. “Chronic Subthreshold Cortical Stimulation to Treat Focal Epilepsy.” JAMA Neurology, American Medical Association, 1 Nov. 2016, jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2553322.

Nilakantan, Aneesha S., et al. “Stimulation of the Posterior Cortical-Hippocampal Network Enhances Precision of Memory Recollection.” Current Biology : CB, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 6 Feb. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302852/.