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A pacemaker for the brain?

For one Sunnyside resident struggling with a lifelong battle against epilepsy, the notion that a small electronic device could erase years of daily seizures and a sickening diet of prescription cocktails seemed too good to be true.
Christa Murphy has suffered from regular seizures since she was 12-years old.

“They couldn’t control it with anything,” she said.

Nearly 25-years and 12-ineffective medications later, Murphy said she began to lose hope. She was missing sleep, missing work and her seizures were becoming worse, she said, when Dr. Gershon Ney, director of the Ney Center for Epileptic Care in Douglaston, recommended a new approach.

“I thought it was very chancy,” Murphy said. “But I trusted him because I had been with him for 18-years.”

In February 2007, Murphy took the leap of faith and underwent a radically unorthodox treatment. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy uses a pacemaker-like device that delivers regular electronic pulses to the patient’s nervous system, helping to stabilize parts of the brain associated with seizures.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that afflicts nearly three-million Americans. The illness instigates seizures by disrupting the brain’s electrical signals, causing uncontrollable muscle contractions, sometimes resulting in unconsciousness or death.

Until recently, epilepsy was treated with a harsh prescription medication program or, in extreme cases, by surgically removing parts of the brain.

VNS therapy was introduced in 1997 and has shown promise in treating epilepsy in patients who do not respond to medication. The stopwatch-sized pulse generator is surgically inserted into the chest cavity and a wire is connected from the device to the vagus nerve, which runs through the neck from the base of the brain. The generator emits an electrical pulse directly into the nerve every five minutes to counteract disruptive epileptic signals.

While many patients only experience reductions in seizures, the device has completely eliminated them for Murphy.
The expecting mother hasn’t had a seizure since August.
“I’m honestly amazed,” Murphy said. “It made such a complete difference. I’m going through a phase of disbelief.”
Despite its success in treating Murphy’s seizures, the treatment is not without side effects. The pulse takes some getting used to, especially after any adjustments to the strength, which can be painful. They can also cause her
throat to become hoarse, Murphy said.

But the VNS side effects are minor compared to her previous treatments.

“I was so tired all the time,” she said of the prescription
drug treatments. “I couldn’t get enough sleep, I gained weight and sometimes I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes. There was no incentive to stay on it – it was very inconsistent.”

After getting the device implanted, Murphy said she felt able to take control of her life again – especially during her pregnancy, which can be dangerous for epileptics.
“It’s life changing,” she said. “I would definitely recommend it.”