Epilepsy

Portrait of a Child with Epilepsy

Summary & Participants

Life with epilepsy is hard for anyone but for kids it can be particularly tough. Learn about a new treatment approach that may help minimize some unwanted side effects.

Medically Reviewed On: June 12, 2008

Webcast Transcript

FERN ORANSKY: It came back with a vengeance, and it as more than just focal seizures at that point. It was all different types of seizures. It was terrible. She was in and out of the hospital like four times in a one year and on a variety of drugs, because they couldn't get her controlled.

ANNOUNCER: At that point, Andi's doctors tried to get her epilepsy under control with a combination of drugs. But, there were problems.

FERN ORANSKY: There were a lot of different side effects. Some of them made her weak, you know, her walking off kilter; she always looked off-balance. Major side effects with her learning. Her cognitive learning ability dropped substantially.

ANNOUNCER: Five years ago, doctors tried using monotherapy, or single medication therapy.

MICHAEL DUCHOWNY, MD: Monotherapy offers many advantages. The most important is that it's very simple to administer. You have one drug. There is no drug-drug interaction and you have the best control over the medication.

The adverse effect profile is very low, meaning that the medications are very well-tolerated. Most pediatric neurologist who deal with children with epilepsy will start with monotherapy.

ANNOUNCER: Now seizure-free for five years, Andi's found success with monotherapy. For a busy teen, taking just one medication simplifies life.

ANDI ORANSKY: I take medication one time a day. I used to take medication three times a day, but I hated taking it and remembering each second.

ANNOUNCER: Treatment still requires adjustment.

ANDI ORANSKY: It makes me think slower and work slower, but I can do the work like any other person.

FERN ORANSKY: Even if there is side effects, I'm used to it, and that's just her at this point, and I don't even know what she would be like without medication.

ANNOUNCER: For Andi, monotherapy works, but that may not always be the case.

TREVOR RESNICK, MD: Adjunctive therapy implies that what you're doing is you're adding on a second drug. So instead of the patient being on one drug, the will be on two drugs. And sometimes we need to do that.

ANNOUNCER: Now Andi's limitations are few.

TREVOR RESNICK, MD: Common sense would tell you that you don't them to go mountain climbing, you don't want them to go deep sea diving and you don't want them to go bungee jumping. Now can they play football? Absolutely. Can they play tennis? Can they go bicycling? Yes.

MICHAEL DUCHOWNY, MD: I stress to all the families that the children should be treated no differently.

ANNOUNCER: Research on epilepsy continues. Stem cell and genetic therapy hold future promise for this difficult disease, but for now Andi Oransky is right where she wants to be.

ANDI ORANSKY: A lot of my friends know the condition of what I have, meaning epilepsy. And none of them care. All of them treat me the same as everyone else.

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