Epilepsy
Epilepsy affects 0.9% of the population, making it one of the most common neurological diseases. Associated with unprovoked seizures, more than fifty million people suffer from epilepsy worldwide, 2.5 million of whom are in the US. Prevalence of the disease is most common in young children and people over 65. In the US, there are 200,000 new cases of epilepsy diagnosed each year.
Caused by abnormal or excessive neuronal activity in the brain, epilepsy treatments focus on the reduction in seizure frequency. These seizures can be debilitating and a hazard to a person's well being physically, mentally and socially. Current treatments include a number of anti-convulsive drugs as well as VNS and DBS therapies.
Efficacy rates of these treatments are unfortunately low. Furthermore, drug therapy causes a host of adverse side effects such as sedation, lethargy and cognitive impairment leading to compromised quality of life. As a result, there is reduced patient compliance. In severe cases, surgical procedures are also an option although they carry their own set of risks and complications.
Our approach to treating epilepsy is based on our deep understanding of the pathophysiological basis of epileptogenesis. The technology consists of a proprietary closed-loop implantable drug delivery platform, triggered by a patented neurological sensor, capable of sensing pre-seizure activity and delivering a tiny amount of a novel drug directly into the brain.