Pilot Trial of a Behavioral Treatment for Epilepsy

The behavioral treatment approach studied aims to help epilepsy patients discover which circumstances and behaviors trigger their seizures. The most common seizure precipitants are irregularities of sleep, sensory triggers such as flashing lights and emotional stress. Patients will learn how to avoid seizure precipitants and how to stop seizures in their first beginnings. Study participants will continue their prior medications.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 16-50 years.
• Reliable diagnosis of partial epilepsy, including simple or complex partial or secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
• Average seizure frequency of at least one partial seizure per month for at least one year.
• Willing not to begin another new treatment other than anticonvulsants (acupuncture, botanicals or other mind-body interventions, ketogenic diet, vagus nerve stimulator, or epilepsy surgery) while enrolled in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• Unreliable history of seizure semiology.
• Average seizure frequency less than one seizure per month.
• Patients in whom it is anticipated that current standard of care would mandate a change in their conventional epilepsy treatment during the time period of the study will be excluded.
• Patients taking more than 2 anticonvulsant medications will be excluded.
• Patients with serious other medical problems, such as brain tumors, cancer, stroke, significant heart disease or psychiatric disorders will be excluded.
• Patients with a high likelihood of psychogenic or nonepileptic seizures will be excluded.
• Patients with progressive epilepsy syndromes, neurodegenerative disorders or significant mental retardation will be excluded.