Re: UCLA’s Dr. Mathern gives children with untreatable seizures a second shot at a normal life

[Guest guest]

One in 26 Americans Will Develop Epilepsy - " An

estimated 1 in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy in their lifetime, a

risk that translates to about 12 million people in the United States,

report researchers.

Wow!!!---I'm glad those children were helped---BUT--given that 1 in 26 Americans

will develop seizures in their life time---WHY exactly??----should be the

focus--and perhaps cutting out half the brain of a 1 year old should't be quite

a top choice--- or among the choices at that age.  Exactly how much time did

they have to try various treatments in that age group--or even a few years

older?--- How much nutritional intervention and detoxification had they tried

before considering that child " incurable " --and a candidate for life time

vegetation?--and let's not forget that if you have a hammer in your hand you'll

see nails everywhere and start hammering--as they say.  you go to a surgeon to

resolve a health problem--and s/he''ll do what s/he knows best--cut somethign

out  and then " prove " that you are cured.

I don't know...but epilepsy is on the rise too and treated it must be or the

brain damage gets worse--no question about that--BUT---I sure wouldn't want the

removal of half my brain to be too quick of an option--sure i understand it is

only after various other drug treatments had been tried----even the katogenic

diet they said--but how about more treatments that dealt with

diet/nutrition--supplements before brain removal?

Detoxification is also a worthwhile treatment since it is known that toxins in

the brain will cause or contribute to epileptic seizures.  So perhaps checking

to see if toxicity is an issue and if so  safe--effective detox coupled with

suplying the missing nutrients--which will ALWAYS be the case in epileptic

patients-no doubt about that--epilepsy is a metabolic disorder that manifests in

many ways--including in the brain.  So all these can also be tried to see if it

makes a difference before resortign to --brain surgery and brain removal.

I am sorry--but the way the article is written it makes me question how exactly

they determine who is a good candidate--and it seems like " brain Surgery " to

deal with what is in essence a metabolic problem manifesting in the brain is a

little too drastic of an approach. Human brains are not exactly like livers and

kidneys--even if they do tend to create new pathways when existing ones are

injured.  Brain removal just doesn't sound like something we jump intol.

The following is an excerpt from the previous article i posted and it is

distrubing in and of itself--but particularly so after seeing this article about

brain surgery as recommended treatment options for epleptics whose seizures are

nto controlled by drugs. This list had posts on how the drugs really stop

working after a while--so new drugs are tried--and those either don't work por

also stop working at soem point.  This means a large number of those 12 million

Americans may end up without half their brain.

Also let's not forget that in recent history---institutionalized patients and

even well to do parents such as the Kenedys were having their daughter's brain

altered surgically to " calm " her down and not cause social embarassments due to

her " inapropriate' activities...whatever that meant....

Again, I'm hapy it worked for those patients with uncontrollable epileptic

seizures who really feel it is the last chance--but the fact that doctors are

recommending it so early on---at such young ages--becasue the brains are more

plastic and will take over the functions of the cut out half better....I don't

know.... I just couldn't see myself going for the brain removal option at all...

particularly in light of the newyorker article I posted which questions the

replicability of many so called " scientific truths "

And what if the seizures somehow return in say..5 years? once the pathways are

formed more etc?--how much of our brains can we just keep removing before 1 in a

few hundred  patients walks around with half a brain in their head?

One in 26 Americans Will Develop Epilepsy - " An

estimated 1 in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy in their lifetime, a

risk that translates to about 12 million people in the United States,

report researchers. This number is much higher than current estimates by

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that suggest

roughly 2 million people in the United States currently have epilepsy.

The CDC reports the total indirect and direct cost of epilepsy in the

United States is more than $15.5 billion. The authors of this new

report, published in the January 4 issue of Neurology, suggest this

amount could increase in years to come. " Ganday. One in 26 Americans

Will Develop Epilepsy. Medscape: January 7, 2011

Best of health,

Elena

From: jeannne buesser <jbmistletoe@...>

Subject: [ ] UCLA’s Dr. Mathern gives children with

untreatable seizures a second shot at a normal life

ApraxiaNetworkOfBergenCountyegroups,

Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 5:49 PM

UCLA’s Dr. Mathern gives children with untreatable seizures a second shot

at a normal life

A UCLA surgeon is pioneering a new solution to hemispheric epilepsy in young

childrenWalking into the operating room, Dr. Mathern’s jitters consisted

of only one thought: “Have I really thought all the details through?â€

Once at the table, focus took over. He was about to remove a piece of

someone’s brain.

Mathern, who said he no longer has jitters about operating, specializes in a

procedure known as a hemispherectomy, which is primarily utilized to treat

epileptic disorders in infants and children.

This type of surgery recently gained media attention with the story of Dylan

Catania, an infant with hemimegalencephaly. His rare disorder causes one half of

the brain to be oversized and malformed, inducing constant seizures. The only

two treatments are medication or surgery.

Dylan’s condition, however, was only one of many that can be treated with a

hemispherectomy, a procedure in which one half of the brain is removed or

disconnected from the other.

The use of this procedure to treat childhood epileptic disorders did not arise

until the 1980s, according to Dr. Raman Sankar, Dylan’s doctor and the chief

of pediatric neurology at UCLA Medical Center.

Newer brain imaging technology helped UCLA researchers realize that the seizures

experienced by these infants were located in only one hemisphere.

“It looks like the whole brain is a mess, but we think there is a lot to

salvage, if we take one part out,†Sankar said. “It is a very unique and

specialized procedure.â€

More than 200 hemispherectomies have been performed through the history of

UCLA’s pediatric epilepsy program, and Mathern said he is continually

fine-tuning the process.

“I don’t do the operation today as I did it 10 years ago,†Mathern said.

Back in 1986, when the pediatric epilepsy program was just forming at UCLA,

Mathern said the most practiced type of this procedure was an anatomic

hemispherectomy, in which the entire half of the brain that caused the seizures

would be removed.

But after a patient died on the table because of massive blood loss, Mathern

said he sought to refine the technique to minimize operational risks.

His new technique, dubbed the UCLA modified lateral hemispherotomy, focuses on

two goals: first, the disconnection of the bad hemisphere from the brain stem,

and secondly, the disconnection of the same hemisphere from the good one.

While this procedure still removes a piece of the brain, Mathern, who is

professor in residence at the UCLA Medical Center’s department of

neurosurgery, said research shows it holds advantages over other type of

hemispherectomies.

Although these procedures are the most effective way to treat epileptic

disorders in infants, not all children affected by such conditions are eligible

for this type of surgery.

Medication to control seizures is often the first course of action, said Sankar.

However, even this less radical approach has its drawbacks, since the medication

targets the whole brain, rather than just the bad part.

The toxicity from heavy medication inhibit a child’s brain from forming the

neural connections that make necessary development possible, Sankar said.

When surgery is performed while a patient is still an infant, Sankar said there

is a better chance of the remaining half of the brain taking over some of the

functions of the removed hemisphere.

If healthy amounts of medication fail and the child has one good hemisphere,

Sankar said the child is then considered for surgery.

One-year-old Evan Stauff met the criteria, and was considered a good candidate

for a hemispherectomy to control the seizures induced by a condition known as

infantile spasms.

“We went through about seven different medications and a few months on a

ketogenic diet, but Evan grew worse,†said Stauff, Evan’s dad. “To

us, the idea of surgery was great, since nothing else was working.â€

The then-10-month-old baby from Oregon received the operation at the UCLA

Medical Center by Mathern, who performed an anatomic hemispherectomy. He

successfully removed Evan’s entire left hemisphere.

Stauff said the group of doctors at UCLA did a good job of detailing the

long-term effects the procedure would have on Evan. The removal of his left

hemisphere would cause right-side impairments, such as poor vision out of his

right eye and the loss of some function in his right limbs.

“We had trepidations,†Stauff said. “There’s always a certain risk with

surgery, especially with infants. To us though, it was worth the risk, 100

percent.â€

And while families undergoing the harrowing process of having part of their

child’s brain cut out may experience great unease, Mathern said he remains

rather cool during the taxing operation.

“To complete the procedure successfully, you have to work through the steps,

focusing on each individual one,†Mathern said.

It all comes down to focus.

And in the end, Mathern’s experience and focus has benefitted many families.

Stauff said Evan has not shown any signs of seizure since the morning they took

him in for surgery.

“The changes were almost night and day,†he said. “The fact that you could

remove half the brain and be so much better off is amazing to us.â€

Couldn't this be tried before surgery?

http://pursuitofresearch.com/2010/11/22/is-nutriiveda-creating-a-paradigm-shift-\

in-treatment-of-seizures/

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