TDCs to Treat Drug-resistant Epilepsy

Epilepsy is the fourth overall neurologic disorder, regardless of age and gender. There are between 16 and 51 new cases per 100 000 people every year. A community-based study conducted in France concluded that up to 22.5 % of patients could be classified as presenting drug-resistant epilepsy. This group presents significant hazards such as an increased risk of death, injuries, psychosocial disfunction and a reduced quality of life. The International League against Epilepsy defines drug-resistant epilepsy as follows: A failure of adequate trials of two (or more) tolerated, appropriately chosen, appropriately used antiepileptic drugs (whether administered as monotherapies or in a combination) to achieve freedom from seizures. This significant amount of patients are the drive to develop different approaches in order to offer alternatives for control. In this regard, non-invasive brain stimulation protocols lead the way, since the pathophysiological substrate of epilepsy is an enhanced cortical excitability, leading to paroxysmal depolarisation shifts, an enhanced probability of high-frequent and hypersyncronous activity of small neuronal networks and the abnormal spreading of this pathological activity along cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical neuronal conections. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) consists of short-lasting electric stimulus delivered to specific brain regions. When delivered repidetly, it generates long-lasting cortical excitability alterations and thus, has the potential to treat epilepsy targeting to the specific brain region where the cortical excitability is alterated. The aim of this study is to define the role for tDCS on the treatment of drug resistant epilepsy on children.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18-90 montths
• Having tried at least two appropriate anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) tested to tolerance or to blood levels at upper end of the target range of which at least 2 have been tolerated at normal dose.
• At least 2-3 seizure per month documented with EEG, not only clinically.
• In good health except epilepsy.
• Patients or his(her) familys could understand this method and sign the informed consent 7）Patients with good compliance and could complete postoperative follow-up.

Exclusion criteria

• Results of MRI remind epilepsy caused by intracranial space-occupying lesions.
• Tumor, cardiopulmonary anomaly, progressive neurological diseases, asthma，mental disease，pepticulcer，diabetes Type 1，bad health etc, and other surgical contraindication
• sleep-related breathing disorders