Closed-Loop Control of Epilepsy by Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

Abstract

Current on Demand: Deep brain electrical stimulation can be a successful therapy in Parkinson's disease, in depression, and in several other psychiatric diseases, especially in drug-resistant cases. Unfortunately, chronic, continuous stimulation is associated with multiple side effects. This could be alleviated by delivering the electrical perturbation only when it is necessary, using closed-loop stimulation. Such an approach is essential for epilepsy, where seizures occur very rarely but with serious consequences. In a rat model for epilepsy, Berényi et al. (p. 735 ) prevented seizures by transcranial electrical stimulation using a closed-loop system. Transcranial electrical stimulation was highly effective and reduced seizure duration, on average, by 60 %.