Seizure surgery is a potential treatment option for people who have focal seizures – seizures that are localized to one area of the brain. However, Dr. Jorge Burneo and colleagues at Western University found that in Ontario, seizure surgery is an extremely underused treatment option and many people with epilepsy are not referred for surgery. In Dr. Burneo’s study, he found that only 1.2% of people had seizure surgery within two years of being diagnosed with drug-resistant epilepsy. In the next phase of research, it is hoped that we can understand why referral rates to epileptologists are so low, and continue to educate the public about surgery.
For people who are having seizure surgery, measuring and observing their brain activity can help us to identify where seizures are starting (epileptogenic regions) and how far they spread. Led by Dr. Burneo and Dr. Ali Khan, studies using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques helped to identify lesions and abnormal structures in the brain not seen on conventional imaging. It is hoped that these findings will allow for better identification of potential epileptogenic regions in the brain, improving the outcomes of patients after surgery.
In other research by Dr. Mary Pat McAndrews and her team at Toronto Western Hospital, there have been advancements in identifying brain networks responsible for language and memory. In particular, these new models are being used to predict memory and language outcomes after surgery, and it is hoped that the dissemination of these new models will help influence clinical practice.
Researchers, including Dr. Douglas Cheyne, also started prototyping a novel technology for minimizing head motion artifacts in magnetoencephalography (MEG), a method of monitoring a person’s brain activity. A MEG helmet placed on the head can map out brain activity by identifying changes in magnetic fields. Improved MEG facilities are now available at SickKids and Toronto Western Hospital. This work has the potential to reduce or even eliminate the need for sedating young patients during standard MEG, increase the accuracy of preoperative imaging, and provide a less invasive, safer approach to finding where seizures start.
Publications
- Audrain et al., Human Brain Mapping. 2018
- Barnett et al., Frontiers in Neurology. 2015
- Barnett et al., Neuroimaging Clinics of North America. 2017
- Barnett, Marty-Dugas & McAndrews, Epilepsy & Behavior. 2014
- Bennett-Back et al., Journal of Neurosurgery. 2014
- Cantor-Rivera et al., Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics, 2015
- Cantor-Rivera et al., International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery. 2016
- Cohn et al., Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2015
- Dian et al., 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC). 2015
- Gill et al., NeuroImage: Clinical. 2017
- Goldsmith & Minassian, Epilepsy & Behaviour. 2016
- Goubran et al., Neuroimage. 2013
- Goubran et al., Human Brain Mapping. 2014
- Goubran et al., Annals of Neurology. 2015
- Goubran et al., Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 2015
- Goubran et al., Human Brain Mapping. 2016
- Jobst et al., Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2018
- Khan et al., Epilepsy Research. 2014
- Kiehna et al., Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. 2016
- Kwan et al., Journal of Neuroradiology. 2017
- McCormick et al., Epilepsia. 2013
- McCormick et al., NeuroImage: Clinical. 2014
- McCormick et al., Neuropsychologia. 2018
- Nakajima et al., Epilepsia. 2016
- Nikolova et al., Epilepsy Research. 2015
- Mohamed et al., Clinical Neurophysiology. 2013
- Protzner et al., The Journal of Neuroscience. 2013
- Quraan et al., PLoS One. 2013
- Salehi et al., Cureus. 2017
- Santyr et al., Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2017
- Santyr et al., Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2018
- St-Laurent et al., Epilepsy & Behavior. 2014
- St-Laurent et al., Hippocampus. 2014
- Wennberg & Cheyne, Clinical Neurophysiology. 2015
- Wennberg & Cheyne, Clinical Neurophysiology. 2014