First published: February 8, 2025
Vagus nerve stimulation therapy in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (severe childhood epilepsy): plain language summary of a 2-year study
Surgical interventions are one form of therapy for LGS patients and include cortical resection (resection), corpus callosotomy (callosotomy), or device therapy. Therapeutic neuromodulation with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is used as a treatment option for those who do not have a resectable seizure focus. VNS is less invasive compared to resection or callosotomy and is a reversible procedure that has shown efficacy in seizure reduction in LGS. The implantable VNS device has changed over the years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the comprehensive real-world use of VNS therapy and its effect on individuals with drug-resistant epilepsy, including patients with LGS.
The Why:
- VNS therapy uses an implanted, pacemaker-like device to send mild electrical pulses to the brain via the vagus nerve, helping to prevent or stop seizures in people with drug-resistant epilepsy
- This 24-month international study was aimed to provide important information on how long-term VNS therapy may help treat patients with LGS
The How:
- The study recruited 819 participants with intractable epilepsy from 60 centers in 15 countries from 2018 to 2021, this included 60 LGS patients.
- Most patients in the study were children with severe cognitive impairment who were still experiencing seizures even after trying at least two and up to 17 antiseizure medications.
The What – Key Findings:
- The VNS therapy system can use ‘scheduled programming,’ in which the device can be programmed in advance to increase the electrical current at preset times to reach the target dose. More patients with LGS used scheduled programming functions to achieve this effective dose than patients with other types of epilepsy.
- VNS therapy reduced seizures in 60%–70% of LGS participants
- VNS therapy helped reduce all types of seizures in people with LGS.
The Importance:
- This study is the first to provide a sizeable longitudinal study of the VNS therapy in LGS patients
- The reduction in seizure frequency seen in patients, particularly regarding the types of seizures that can result in falls and hospital visits, along with the improvement in quality of life after treatment, supports the use of VNS therapy for people with LGS.
READ THE PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Updated 01/21/26 (AM)