A recent article published by Dr. Jorge Burneo and colleagues in the journal Neurology has described what happens to people during the two years after they are diagnosed as having “drug-resistant” epilepsy (also referred to as “intractable” epilepsy). Epilepsy is diagnosed as “drug-resistant” after two trials of anti-seizure medications have failed to control seizures.
 
What wasn’t surprising about this study is that only 1.2% of these patients had had seizure surgery within 2 years after diagnosis. This isn’t new – we all know that surgery is underused.
 
What was surprising about this study is that 12% of the patients were deceased within two years after diagnosis. It is important to remember that mortality in epilepsy is 2-4 times higher than in the general population, and that much of the mortality occurs within the years shortly after diagnosis.
 
My grandson is 3 and has been on 3 to 5 medications? Seizures stopped then came back several months later. How do we get in touch with a epilepsy specialist? We live in a small community. My daughter wants answers and a support group who she can speak to.
Thank you for your time.
Hello Kat. Thank you for your comment. We have emailed you to connect you with your local community epilepsy agency. Please feel free to message us again if you need more information about seizure surgery research.