BRAIN BUCKET FOR EPILEPSY
REPORT: MB #3059
BACKGROUND: Almost 3 million people living in the United States have some form of epilepsy, and 200,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. A person is considered to have epilepsy if he or she suffers two or more spontaneous seizures. Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes and present themselves in different ways, but they are all caused by a brief, strong surge of electrical activity in the brain. While traditional symptoms of a seizure are convulsions and loss of consciousness, other, less recognizable symptoms include blank staring, lip smacking and jerking movements of the arms and legs.
CAUSES: An often mysterious condition, epilepsy has many possible causes. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about half of all seizures have no known cause. Anything that disturbs the normal pattern of neuron activity in the brain can lead to seizures. Researchers believe some people with the condition have an abnormally high level of excitatory neurotransmitters, which increase the activity of neurons, while others have an abnormally low level. Other events that can cause multiple seizure episodes are head injury and stroke. The problem lies in the brain's attempts to repair itself after such traumatic events, which sometimes causes problems in nerve connections. Research suggests genetic abnormalities may be some of the most important risk factors for epilepsy.
DIAGNOSIS: In addition to a medical history, physical exam and blood tests, the process of epilepsy diagnosis may include electroencephalograph (EEG), computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests. EEG machines record brain waves picked up by tiny wires taped to the head, and doctors analyze wave patterns. CT and MRI scans are used to search for growths or scars in the brain that may cause seizures. These abnormalities can be subtle and hard to detect even with MRI imaging.
A new technology developed at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston could revolutionize the detection of epilepsy and other brain disorders, researchers say. The multi-channel phased ray coil, or "Brain Bucket," is a helmet containing sensors and coils connected to an MRI machine. In conjunction with the helmet, the MRI can put together high-resolution images of the brain up to 10-times faster than older machines (Source: ABC News). The images can show clear images of parts of the brain like blood vessels and abnormalities that an MRI would have missed completely. In a study using an early prototype of the Brain Bucket on epilepsy patients, the device picked up abnormalities in the brain that previous scans missed in 50 percent of patients.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Bruce Rosen, MD, PhD
bruce@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu
