ABSTRACT
Treatment of epilepsy by electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) was pioneered at the University of Grenoble in France headed by Professor Benabid. Ictal EEG analysis showed left hemisphere seizures maximum in the centrotemporal region. A patient is considered refractory to an antiepileptic drug when seizures have continued despite adequate therapy at a maximum tolerated dose, regardless of the plasma drug level. Patients received constant high frequency stimulation (HFS) for the first part of the study. Stimulation parameters were adjusted by a portable stimulator. In May 2000, he underwent bilateral STN electrode implantation for management of his intractable epilepsy. The preliminary results in patients with medically intractable non-surgical focal epilepsy suggest that HFS of the STN was effective in two patients, with a marked decreased in seizure frequency ranging from 42% to 75%.
