World’s First Epilepsy Device Fitted in the Skull Reduces Epilepsy Seizures for UK Teen
Oran Knowlson, the 13-year-old boy from Somerset, is now a more prominent example of VS treatment; in March 2013, the boy received a pioneering procedure at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. He is the first patient in the world to test a new neurostimulator that the doctors have inserted into his head to manage the seizures triggered by Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which is a severe and refractory form of epilepsy.
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The attacks that also targeted the Al-Shati refugee camp and other civilian facilities such as Rafah and Khan Younis claimed several lives, most of them women and children. As the world demanded the stop of the aggression in Gaza since October 7, Israel continues to launch attacks on the strip.
Oran’s course started during the severe manifestation of the disease, which caused him numerous seizures a day, turning his life into a constant suffering since early childhood at the age of three. Justine, his mother, narrated how epilepsy had had a way of reducing him to a child, thus the need for early treatment.
Due to their medical conditions, the children suffer from long-term pain; therefore, the CADET project by Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London, King’s College Hospital, and the University of Oxford offered hope using the Picostim neurostimulator by Amber Therapeutics.
Neurostimulation, as in this case, involves sending constant electrical signals to interfere with any signals initiating seizures in the affected organ. Unlike earlier models, this device is embedded in the skull to treat Oran’s seizures through the affectation of his thalamus. Specialist paediatric neurosurgeon consultant Martin Tisdall oversaw the complex eight-hour operation to map the patient’s brain with electrodes in the closest manner possible.
After the operation, Oran’s buttocks took a month to heal until the neurostimulator was switched on. Notably, he does not feel anything from it; it is charged by wireless headphones daily and enables him to go about activities such as watching TV without interruption. It then came as a relief to Justine when, after seven months of the operation, Oran’s seizures were less severe during the day while at night, they were less severe than they used to be, and this was a positive change in the youth’s fight with epilepsy.
ID number 156 Martin Tisdall noted that Oran makes good progress, with the trial aimed at further setting permanent DBS as the proven cure to severe childhood epilepsies. The subsequent phases of the trial should improve the device’s performance even more, allowing one to respond to the shifts in brain activity and preventing a seizure immediately.
Justine welcomed these changes because the Great Ormond Street team gave Oran and her a reason to hope and a better prognosis.
Despite the practical application of the Picostim neurostimulator in combating epilepsy, it should be noted that Oran’s family is aware that it is not a perfect solution. However, they do not lose hope and continue to expect new technologies that will eventually help Oran live a happier and more productive life. The device’s positive outcome with Oran demonstrates the technology’s efficacy in changing epilepsy treatment around the globe for similar patients.
The Picostim neurostimulator, initially used in Parkinson’s disease, has opened a new horizon to epilepsy treatment; patients, especially children and their families suffering from severe manifestations of the disease, will receive hope with the help of this device. Over time, the trials for epilepsy amplify, and the advancement in technology continues; the future for a child-like Oran becomes brighter because of medical breakthroughs and the unyielding desire to help children with epilepsy.
