Research Shows How Gamma Knife Surgery Can Benefit Epilepsy Patients

Neurosurgeons continue to investigate minimally invasive surgery using gamma radiation (gamma knife surgery/GKS) to treat brain lesions that cause seizures and epilepsy. Studies of the procedure show it is an effective alternative to invasive microsurgery for hypothalamic hamartomas and other lesions located deep within the brain. Prospective research by investigative teams in Canada and France, and presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s 65th annual meeting this week, found that GKS in hypothalamic hamartomas significantly benefit the lives of patients beyond seizure reduction.

The hypothalamus, which lies near the brain stem, controls several functions, including body temperature, circadian cycles and sleep. Hamartomas are abnormal clumps or masses of normal tissue attached to functional tissue. The lesions are present at birth and may provoke intractable seizures, such as laughing seizures, and lead to precocious puberty and cognitive deficits. For more information, click here to read the full release.