Epilepsy Talk
TNS vs. VNS – NO SURGERY!
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The first Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) was implanted in 1988, as a therapeutic option for medically intractable epilepsy, when elective epilepsy surgery was not appropriate.
As the number of implanted vagus nerve stimulators grows, so does the need to remove or revise the devices.
Which is a little tricky, because of the spiral stimulating electrodes, wrapped around the nerve. Especially if the VNS treatment has proven ineffective.
And of course, what goes in, must come out. Anyway you look at it, there’s more surgery involved.
The up side to having a VNS is better seizure control.
The down side is discomfort, headaches, temporary hoarseness and shortness of breath.
Move Over VNS…There’s A New Guy in Town!
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What if I were to say there’s a new nerve stimulation therapy that requires NO SURGERY and reduces seizures among those who are drug resistant by about 40 percent?
SAY HELLO TO TRIGEMINAL NERVE STIMULATION!
The difference between this experimental device and the VNS is that the skin is never penetrated and the TNS is powered by an external device about the size of a large cell phone.
Tags: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, Lennox Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), new nerve stimulation therapy, no surgery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), reduces seizures, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS), VNS
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