A new study published in Epilepsy Research found 64.3% of patients with various forms of drug-resistant epilepsy in the LAANTERN (Laser Ablation of Abnormal Neurological Tissue Using Robotic NeuroBlate System) registry were free of disabling seizures, reaching Engel I, after one year.
Sixty patients were enrolled in the study specifically for epilepsy treatment. Forty-two reached the one-year follow-up.
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Patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) comprised 56.7 % of the cohort of multiple epilepsy types. Other significant etiologies included focal cortical dysplasia, hypothalamic hamartoma, cavernoma, heterotopias, and tuberous sclerosis. Median length of stay was 32.7 hours. At discharge, head pain score averaged 1.4 ± 2.1 on a scale from 1 to 10. Five adverse events were reported, one categorized as serious. Seizure worry and social functioning scores improved significantly in quality of life measures.
The study, which was co-authored by David A. Sun, M.D., Ph.D., neurosurgeon and executive medical director of Norton Neuroscience Institute, concluded that multicenter prospective seizure outcomes continue to expand published LITT (thermal ablation) experience in MTLE as well as non-MTLE epilepsies. The minimally invasive nature allows for short hospitalizations with minimal reported pain and discomfort, the authors wrote.
To ready the complete study, see Epilepsy Research, Volume 167, November 2020.