↩ Department of Neurology

Overview

Epilepsy Center Overview

The Rutgers Health Epilepsy Center provides evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and management of children and adults who have epilepsy as well as seizure disorders. The center includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, nurse practitioners, pharmacologists, psychiatrists, neuropathologists, and research coordinators.

Patients also have opportunities to enroll in clinical trials of new antiepileptic medications for various seizure types and evaluations for epilepsy surgery. The Epilepsy Center also addresses quality-of-life concerns, including depression, memory issues, safe driving, bone health, reproductive health, and pregnancy.

The Rutgers Health Epilepsy Center performs diagnostic and treatment procedures at our Neuro-Electro-Diagnostic Laboratory including:

  • Electrocorticography (phase 4) in assisting neurosurgeons for epilepsy in resective surgery
  • High-resolution epilepsy protocol MRI brain scans
  • Ictal single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans
  • Laser thermal ablation surgery
  • Outpatient laboratory electroencephalogram (EEG) and evoked potentials (nerve responses) for infants, children, and adults
  • Phase 1 long-term inpatient video EEG monitoring with scalp electrodes to identify an area of the brain responsible for epileptic activity or to differentiate between epileptic events and nonepileptic symptoms
  • Phase 2 Wada testing (cerebral angiogram with neuropsychological testing during EEG monitoring), which assesses language, memory, and language dominance on one side of the brain at a time
  • Phase 3 video EEG with intracranial electrodes (subdural, grid, or depth, etc.) to accurately pinpoint the epileptic focus for possible surgery
  • Positron emission tomography (PET) scans
  • Resective epilepsy surgery to remove specific brain tissues that may be responsible for seizures
  • Sleep studies
  • Vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) therapy

Physicians at the center are on the faculty of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, a part of Rutgers University, one of the top research institutions in America. Our doctors are involved in research and in teaching about all aspects of epilepsy and other neuromuscular conditions, and each brings leading-edge knowledge from the classroom to the exam room.

If you or a loved one is seeking diagnosis and treatment for epilepsy and seizure disorders, please make an appointment with the Rutgers Health Epilepsy Center today.