Seizures vary widely in their features, ranging from mild sensations such as tingling in a finger to loss of consciousness. Making a complete and accurate epilepsy diagnosis is critical to providing effective treatment. Frequently people diagnosed with epilepsy prove to have other disorders.
Innovative surgical and drug therapies now offer many people with epilepsy the chance to live free of seizures and side effects of drugs. Our dedicated team of professionals continues its promising research in understanding the causes of epilepsy and pioneering new techniques for improving the quality of life for people with epilepsy.
 A full range of conventional epilepsy surgery procedures, together with new techniques pioneered by neurosurgeons at the Centers, offer the potential for full seizure control to people who have not been able to achieve control with other treatments. Precise methods for mapping the location of seizure activity allow surgeons to remove only the diseased tissue while preserving vital brain function.
 The Comprehensive Epilepsy Centers also provide vagus nerve stimulation, an exciting new strategy for reducing the frequency and severity of seizures. Our team of neurologists and neurosurgeons is experienced in implanting the small device that functions as a pacemaker in normalizing brain electrical activity and adjusting it for maximal effect and tolerance.
Participation in multiple clinical trials of new medications offers patients the opportunity to control their epilepsy with the most advanced drug therapies available. Our child and adult neurologists have extensive experience in using traditional, as well as newer antiepileptic drugs. An investigational drug study program is also offered for patients whose seizures are not well controlled on available medications.
 Systematic assessments to determine the extent of any possible brain injury are performed for adults and children by an experienced neuropsychologist. These evaluations help identify strengths and weaknesses in patients’ memory, intellectual and cognitive abilities, as well as any social, behavioral and emotional problems resulting from their epilepsy.
A complete neuropsychological assessment maximizes a patient’s potential by providing important information in determining the accurate diagnosis, as well as planning effective treatments and rehabilitation.
 Our specialized Pediatric Comprehensive Epilepsy Center offers a team of renowned pediatric neurologist and neurosurgeons backed by the full resources of our outstanding Children’s Hospital of New Jersey. Patients and their families benefit from a complete range of multidisciplinary services specifically tailored for children and delivered in a family-centered environment.
Patients should bring all of their previous medical records, including a complete list of medications and any neuro-imaging tests (EEG, MRI, CT, SPECT, and PET scans) that have been performed with them to their first appointment at the Adult and Pediatric Comprehensive Epilepsy Centers.
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