Many patients suffering from epilepsy problems are examined and consulted by a leading expert Pierre Jallon at Viet Duc University Hospital

20/09/2022 15:23

From 2-4/8/2022, Neurology Department, Viet Duc University Hospital had organized intensive consultation and examination on epilepsy disease. International Ambassador for Epilepsy of the International Antiepileptic Society: Prof. Pierre Jallon – Former President of the French Antiepileptic Association directly examined for 30 patients, of which the youngest patient received examination was only 1 year old.

 

Among the patients, there were cases identified by Prof. Pierre Jallon as complicated which needed to be discussed with the experts in France in order to come up with a treatment plan. N (14 months old) has had seizures since 1 month old. Everyday, N has to face with 20 seizures and has been treating with lots of antiepileptic drugs but to no avail. Through the results of paraclinical scans, experts suspect N had an enlarged hemisphere brain. According to Prof. Jallon, this is such a difficult case. The surgical approach to hemiparesis has been discussed, but whether this is a good option. This is a case that professor needs to consult further with French experts in Neurosurgery.  

 

 

There were also cases that doctors diagnosed to rule out epilepsy. Mr. T (40 years old) has been visiting many doctors, diagnosed with epilepsy and used lots of antiepileptic drugs, however his conditions did not improve as expected. At the examination with expert, after monitoring carefully videos of seizures, radiographs and electroencephalogram, Prof. Pierre Jallon concluded that the daily seizures that Mr. T has for over 20 years now are psychotic attacks, therefore, the expert decided to cut off the medicine for Mr. T. Similar with Mr. T, B (2 years old, Thai Binh) was taken by family to the examination and diagnosed to rule out epilepsy. After watching daily seizure videos of B recorded by family with EEG results, Prof. Pierre Jallon diagnosed again the disease for B and gave a new treatment plan that is more suitable.

 

By proper diagnosis and treatment, 70% of patients can control the seizure. However, in reality, there are 80-90% cases of epilepsy live in developing countries do not receive appropriate treatment. Through the examination with Prof. Pierre Jallon and epilepsy experts of Viet Duc University Hospital, patients have chances to have a thorough assessment of the disease, timely adjustment and best intervention plan.

 

 

The current treatment of epilepsy is still mainly symptomatic treatment aimed at stopping seizures with antiepileptic drugs. In addition, there are other methods such as stimulation of the X cord, surgical treatment, dietary and living adjustments, etc. In addition, it is also necessary to psychologically treat the patient, treat the cause and disorders caused by seizures. The choice of antiepileptic drug should choose a drug that controls the seizure, limits the side effects of the drug, encourages the use of one drug to control the seizure, and gradually increases the dose to achieve an effective dose. In addition, the drug must have a reasonable price so that the patient can use it for a long time and can easily buy it at the place where they live. Special care should be taken when using antiepileptic drugs for pregnant women because antiepileptic drugs increase the risk of malformations by 2 times compared with the general population. It is necessary to avoid using drugs that cause birth defects such as valproate (causes neural tube defects), phenytoin (causes facial defects) …