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New surgical technique offers hope to refractory epilepsy patients
25 Jun 2009
Refractory epilepsy patients may benefit from an innovative surgical technique which had been considered too dangerous.
An article in the Journal of Neurosurgery said that the microsurgery technique, which involves the brain structure insula, is both "safe and beneficial" for patients suffering from the condition.
Study investigators Dr Alain Bouthillier and Dr Dang Khoa Nguyen, of the Universite de Montreal, Canada, explained that the research confirmed insula's role in refractory epilepsy.
"The non-recognition of insular seizures has probably been responsible for some failures in epilepsy surgery in the past," they said.
An improved understanding of the anatomy of the brain, in addition to the use of microsurgical techniques, should now permit surgery on the insula with a vastly reduced risk to patients.
Despite the role of the insula not being fully understood, it is known that it is involved in automatic, sensory and speech functions.
Some 30 per cent of people with epilepsy have refractory epilepsy, which is characterised by uncontrolled seizures.
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