Results of vagal nerve stimulator application in patients with resistant epilepsy

Epilepsy is a chronic cerebral dysfunction that characterized by abnormal electrical hyperactivity in neurons in the cerebrum. Although the first-line treatment of epilepsy is medical therapy, seizures are resistant to antiepileptic drugs in approximately 1/3 of patients. For this reason, vagal nerve stimulator implantation is a palliative and alternative treatment in cases where antiepileptic drug therapy is insufficient and resective epilepsy surgery is not suitable. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of vagal nerve stimulation application on seizure frequency, number of antiepileptic drugs used, seizure duration, postictal duration, seizure severity, cognitive status, mood, social relations and quality of life in adult and pediatric patients with resistant epilepsy. As a result of our study; A statistically significant decrease in the number of seizures was observed in patients who were implanted with a vagal nerve stimulator device due to resistant epilepsy. However, there was no significant decrease in the number of antiepileptic drugs used by the patients before and after the vagal nerve stimulation application. A statistically significant decrease is observed in the duration of seizures, postictal duration, and the number of admissions to the emergency due to seizures in patients in our study after vagal nerve stimulation. There is also a statistically significant improvement in the depressive states and quality of life of the patients. The results of our study support the literature.