Results of the study, published in the Oct. 14 issue of Neurology, show that 86 percent of the 111 children who underwent hemispherectomy at the Children's Center between 1975 and 2001 are either seizure-free or have non-disabling seizures that do not require medication.
These results are slightly improved over a 1997 study of 58 Hopkins hemispherectomy patients which found that 78 percent of children were either seizure-free or had mild seizures.
The findings should help parents who are still contemplating whether their child would benefit from the surgery, said the study's lead author, Eric Kossoff, M.D., a pediatric epileptologist at the Children's Center.
"It's clear now that the quality of life of children with chronic, severe seizures greatly improves following hemispherectomy," he said. "In almost all cases, the children no longer depend on multiple medications, and post-operatively, most of the children are walking and running and living normal lives."
All hemispherectomy patients have partial paralysis on the side of the body opposite the removed portion. However, "except for a few with major postoperative complications, such as meningitis and edema, all the children we followed up with are up and about and most have adapted to their handicapped side so well that they play the piano, golf, ping-pong and can dance," Kossoff added.
In the latest study, Hopkins researchers reviewed the charts and contacted many of the families of the 58 children who participated in the 1997 study, as well as 53 other children who subsequently had a Hopkins hemispherectomy. They found 65 percent are seizure-free, 21 percent have occasional, non-handicapping seizures, and 14 percent have troubleso
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Contact: Jessica Collins
jcolli31@jhmi.edu
410-516-4570
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
13-Oct-2003