An evidence-based guideline update on vagus nerve stimulation for treatment of epilepsy supports consideration of its use in children, in patients with Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, and to improve mood in adults. Its efficacy may also increase over prolonged treatment. These conclusions are tentative, however, highlighting our knowledge gaps.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Sillanpää, M. & Shinnar, S. Long-term mortality in childhood-onset epilepsy. N. Engl. J. Med. 363, 2522–2529 (2010).
Morris, G. L. 3rd et al. Evidence-based guideline update: vagus nerve stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy: report of the Guideline Development Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology http://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182a393d1.
[No authors listed] A randomized controlled trial of chronic vagus nerve stimulation for treatment of medically intractable seizures. The Vagus Nerve Stimulation Study Group. Neurology 45, 224–230 (1995).
Handforth, A. et al. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy for partial-onset seizures: a randomized active-control trial. Neurology 51, 48–55 (1998).
Cramer, J. A., Ben Menachem, E. & French, J. Review of treatment options for refractory epilepsy: new medications and vagal nerve stimulation. Epilepsy Res. 47, 17–25 (2001).
Morris, G. L. 3rd & Mueller, W. M. Long-term treatment with vagus nerve stimulation in patients with refractory epilepsy. The Vagus Nerve Stimulation Study Group E01–E05. Neurology 53, 1731–1735 (1999).
Kuba, R. et al. Vagus nerve stimulation: longitudinal follow-up of patients treated for 5 years. Seizure 18, 269–274 (2009).
Ioannidis, J. P. Why most published research findings are false. PLoS Med. 2, e124 (2005).
Callaghan, B. C. et al. Likelihood of seizure remission in an adult population with refractory epilepsy. Ann. Neurol. 62, 382–389 (2007).
Choi, H. et al. Seizure remission and relapse in adults with intractable epilepsy: a cohort study. Epilepsia 49, 1440–1445 (2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dugan, P., Devinsky, O. Guidelines on vagus nerve stimulation for epilepsy. Nat Rev Neurol 9, 611–612 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.211
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.211
This article is cited by
-
Vagus nerve stimulation for treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Neurosurgical Review (2022)