Abstracts

Rationale: To describe the efficacy, safety and magnet use in children up to 6 years with pharmacoresistant epilepsy treated with VNS Therapy at the Memorial Child Hospital in Warsaw, Poland. Methods: Seven children (3M, 4F); mean age: 4.7 ± 1.38 years (range, 3-6). Mean epilepsy duration: 3.9 ± 1.35 years (range, 2-6). Etiology: birth trauma, N=2; West syndrome, N=1; ceroid lipofuscinosis, N=1; cerebral involvement of leukemia, N=1; unknown, N=2. Mental retardation, N=4; neurological deficits, N=5. MRI was abnormal in 5 children. Simple partial seizures, N=1, complex partial, N=6; secondarily generalized, N=5. Magnet effect (cessation of seizures, partial effect or no effect) was evaluated within the first week after implantation (‘early magnet effect’ - EME) and after 6, 12 and 24 months (‘stable magnet effect’ - SME). Results: Mean and median seizure reduction: 46.2% and 40% after 6 months (N=7); 46.2% and 40% after 12 months (N=7); 52.2% and 45% after 24 months (N=6), respectively. Three patients (42.8%) had >=50% seizure reduction; one patient (14.3%) remained seizure-free for 18 months. Three patients had <50% seizure reduction and 1 patient had no change in seizure frequency. The surgical procedure and treatment were well tolerated. EME: partial effect in 6 children. SME: partial effect in 7, 7 and 6 children after 6, 12 and 24 months, respectively. Conclusions: VNS Therapy is effective and well tolerated even in young children up to 6 years of age. Magnet stimulation provided children treated with VNS Therapy with additional means for controlling their seizures.