ABSTRACT

Approximately 20%-30% of individuals who develop epilepsy will develop medically refractory epilepsy. For this population, ‘‘alternative’’ or nonpharmacologic treatments such as vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and ketogenic diet (KD) can be highly efficacious and should be seriously considered. Children and young people with medically-resistant epilepsy and poor candidates for epilepsy surgery may be referred to a tertiary paediatric epilepsy specialist for consideration of introducing VNS or KD. Information on the availability of VNS and KD in children is limited yet, due to the lack of suitably designed clinical studies in this population. VNS, is well-tolerated and effective as add-on therapy for refractory seizures in children. There has been no indication of reduction of effectiveness in long-term, open studies. Complications associated with implantation includes infection at the incision site, rib fractures and transient paralysis of the left vocal cord. Special caution is advised for children with pre-existing sleep apnea, cardiac conduction disorders, and asthma. Decreased seizure severity and recovery time, abolition of daytime drop attacks, and reduced hospitalization due to SE have improved patients’ quality of life. KD, with a nonfat-to-fat ratio of 1:4 is a nonpharmacologic treatment for children with intractable epilepsy. Recent reports suggest that the benefit of KD is equivalent to any of the new anticonvulsant medications. The KD is difficult to maintain and has common side effects as constipation, acidosis, hypercholesterolemia, kidney stones, and hunger. It seems possible to design a therapy that is less rigorous and intrusive than the current KD, and promising alternative dietary approaches such as the Atkins and Low-glycemic-index (LGI) diet are emerging.

Keywords: Pharmacoresistant epilepsy, ketogenic diet, vagus nerve stimulation