Description

The invention is a non-invasive prognostic method for patients suffering from epilepsy based on the analysis of data from routine paraclinical examination of patients with epilepsy (standard EEG record), therefore there is no increased patient burden in the investigation. This method allows with high reliability to predict whether patients will belong to a group of so-called future responders or nonresponders, ie VNS-sensitive or non-responding patients.

Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy may receive a pacemaker for chronical vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) as a treatment. Approximately 50% of patients have a good effect on VNS, there is a significant reduction in seizure frequency (more than 50%) and these patients are rated as responders. For the remaining 50% of patients, the vagal stimulator has no significant effect, these patients are evaluated as nonresponders. At present, it is not possible to distinguish between future responders and nonresponders based on pre-operational data.

Commercial opportunity

The benefits for both responders and nonresponders are obvious: patients who are insensitive to VNS would not have to undergo an inconvenient and complicated surgical procedure that would give them no benefit, and more VNS-sensitive patients could get the right treatment which would help them and which would, therefore, be justified. The identified procedure thus reduces both the patient's burden of "unnecessary" surgical interventions (linked to implantation and consequent removal of VNS), thus saving significant costs of the health system.

The method is suitable for EEG device manufacturers.

IP protection status

Valid patents in the territory of D, CH, F, GBR and B