To provide the full range of care to adults and children with epilepsy, the Center for Neurosciences has created a comprehensive Epilepsy Center, which allows for close coordination among adult neurologists, pediatric neurologists, neurosurgeons and nurse practitioners.
Epilepsy is a condition in which a problem in the brain causes a person to have seizures. Not all cases of seizures are due to epilepsy, and epilepsy has no single cause. Our specialists work closely with our patients to ensure a correct and specific diagnosis and to develop a treatment plan.
Evaluation and Diagnosis
- Our physicians will take a thorough history, which will include asking about epilepsy risk factors and family history as well as current and previous medications.
- We are able to conduct extensive testing with either an EEG (electroencephalogram) done at our clinic or at one of our partner hospitals, or an ambulatory EEG – which you wear home so that readings can be recorded over a longer period of time.
- Through our collaborative efforts with Tucson Medical Center, we also offer a dedicated epilepsy monitoring unit equipped with video EEG technology. The unit has two adult and two pediatric beds available so that patients can be monitored continually for up to a week.
Medical and Surgical Treatments
There are many treatments available to treat epilepsy. Medications are effective in most cases and there are many medications to choose from in finding a treatment that works. When other treatment is needed, there are surgical options to treat epilepsy such as the vagal nerve stimulator or temporal lobe surgery.
Clinical Trials
Our team specializes in identifying the causes of epilepsy and finding effective treatments. We work with our patients to ensure they have access to the newest experimental treatments either through our in house clinical trial program or through other trials in the area.
To view an animated informational video on epilepsy, please visit our video library.