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Stability of interictal epileptic discharges as a predictive biomarker for vagus nerve stimulation
Wolde, L.H.R. de (2025) Stability of interictal epileptic discharges as a predictive biomarker for vagus nerve stimulation.
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| Abstract: | A treatment option for drug-resistant epilepsy is vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). It reduces seizure frequency by more than 50% in 50-60% of the patients. However, it remains unclear which epilepsy patients will benefit from VNS, leading to ineffective treatment. We assessed whether the stability of the morphological features in interictal epileptic discharges (IEDs) could serve as a predictive biomarker for this process. Ultra-long subcutaneous EEG data prior to VNS implantation were analyzed. Several morphological features and similarity metrics were assessed for correlation with visual IED stability assessment. Subsequently, we evaluated the correlation between these features and the VNS effect. Only the variability in the spike and slow wave durations showed the expected negative correlation with the visual IED assessment (r = −0.91, p = 0.030 and r = −0.83, p = 0.081, respectively). These features showed a strong negative correlation with the improvement in QoL (r = −0.98, p = 0.004 and r = −0.98, p = 0.003, respectively) and showed lower IQR values within the responders group. Although based on a small cohort, these results point to potential biomarkers that could support a more informed decision-making and potentially cut unnecessary VNS surgeries, saving costs and reducing patient disappointment. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | TNW: Science and Technology |
| Subject: | 44 medicine, 50 technical science in general |
| Programme: | Technical Medicine MSc (60033) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/106415 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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