More than 3 million people in the U.S. have epilepsy – and roughly one-third of those Americans continue to live with seizures because treatment simply doesn't work.
But Dr. John Kleen, a UCSF neurologist, thinks there might be another option for those that medicine can't help.
"That's what we refer to as drug-resistant epilepsy," he told KCBS Radio's "As Prescribed" on Thursday. "Chances are most people…know a family member or a friend or has least has seen a seizure in real life, but it’s not something you see every day because medicines do a pretty good job for the most part."
About half of new epilepsy patients usually get first control of their seizures in the early rounds of drugs, Kleen estimated. Beyond that, many people aren't able to get full control of their seizures after up to four medicines are taken.
"We're always surprised at how many people have never heard of epilepsy surgery, including how many patients were not aware this was an option for them," he explained.
The idea is to address "an area of the brain that's irritable," Kleen said, including possible scarring or illness that affected the brain.
But not all patients who don’t improve with certain drugs are candidates for surgery.
"There's a whole science behind it and literally a lot of science and research going in to who is likely to benefit and who isn't," Kleen said. "Since brain surgery is a big deal, we prefer to make group decisions."
Beyond medicine and surgery, computers and neurostimulation are options.
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