Epilepsy

Research

Mayo Clinic has a long-standing tradition of research related to improving treatment options for patients with epilepsy. Research is conducted at all three Mayo locations.

Mayo Clinic research led to significant developments in MRI techniques that are now used widely in the screening of patients for epilepsy surgery.

Innovations in SPECT scanning at Mayo Clinic have also led to improvements in presurgical evaluation, as have several surgical outcome studies published by the epilepsy and neurosurgery staff.

The EEG laboratory at Mayo Clinic has also long been known for its innovations in the diagnosis of epilepsy and localization of seizures.

Clinical research evaluating electrical brain stimulation for epilepsy is ongoing, and research in the use of vagus nerve stimulation and the ketogenic diet has also been performed at Mayo Clinic.

Laboratory research examining the underlying mechanisms of seizures is being pursued as well.

Other areas of research include:

• Cortical stimulation mapping and seizure localization
• Development of devices to help predict seizures
• Care and management of patients with intractable epilepsy
• Seizures in older adults
• Seizures in the Hispanic population
• Social stigma attached to epilepsy
• Anti-epileptic medication-related bone demineralization and seizure-related vertebral fractures
• Seizure-related injuries
• Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP)

Mayo Clinic participates in several clinical trials related to epilepsy, including a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health aimed at increasing understanding of the genetic basis of some forms of epilepsy.

Mayo Publications

See a list of publications by Mayo Clinic doctors on epilepsy on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.