Spotlight on the Yale Epilepsy Program

[April 2004] Nearly two million Americans suffer from epilepsy--many of them children. It is the oldest known brain disorder and was mentioned in literature 2,000 years B.C. It is not considered a single disease; the recurrent seizures that mark its presence result from sudden temporary disturbances in the normal operation of the brain's electrical system that may stem from different causes. Epilepsy takes many forms and its severity ranges from mild to completely debilitating.

Most people with epilepsy are successfully treated with antiepileptic drugs that provide partial or complete control over seizures. But approximately 250,000 people in the U.S. do not respond to medication. They may experience catastrophic epileptic seizures daily, making any semblance of a normal life impossible.

The Yale Epilepsy Program provides promising options for many of these adult and pediatric patients. Internationally known for clinical excellence and innovative research, this program was one of the nation's first and has evolved into one of the most active and advanced in the world.

The core specialists of the Yale Epilepsy Program team have been together for over 30 years, and the extended team—comprised of adult and pediatric neurosurgeons, adult and pediatric epileptologists, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, and others—collectively brings more experience to the patients treated at Yale than almost any other program in the world.

"This program combines the best of all options for the epilepsy patient," said Dennis Spencer, MD, Surgery Director of the Epilepsy Program. "We have the history and experience to provide peace of mind, state-of-the-art technology and procedures, and the new available devices and medications that you can only get at an academic center."

Those benefits are enriched by a personal regard and concern for the well being of each patient. Patients are considered very real partners in planning their courses of action, but are also supported by caregivers during each step of the process to ensure the best outcome, both medically and emotionally.

"Physicians treating epilepsy need to recognize the social, vocational, cognitive, economic, and psychological effects epilepsy--not just epileptic seizures--can have on a person's life," said Susan Spencer, MD, Medical Director of the Epilepsy Program. "Patients need to express these issues so successful treatment can be translated into improvement in quality of life. We are, and others should also be, paying more and more attention to this issue."

In addition, the combination of advanced diagnostic techniques available at Yale is not duplicated by any other center in the U.S. "We have a very full plate of options," said Susan Spencer, "and each surgical patient is addressed individually to determine which procedure or combination of procedures--such as the use of multiple different kinds of electrodes--is appropriate."

Also, as an educational facility, Yale offers a fellowship program in epilepsy neurosurgery (one of only a handful in the country) and epilepsy neurology. "And we are probably conducting more research in all areas--physiology, biochemistry, basic science, imaging--than anyone else in the country," added Dennis Spencer. "It is the combination of all of these things--decades of experience, new technology and research in the field of epilepsy, and a caring staff--that makes the epilepsy program at Yale so outstanding."

The physicians at Yale in the Epilepsy Program

More about Epilepsy

Study Reveals Cause of Loss of Consciousness During Seizures

Contact Information:
Sharon Baca, RN, BSN, Epilepsy Surgery Coordinator
(203) 785-4891 or sharon.baca@yale.edu