ArticleFrontiers in neurology2022
Vagus nerve stimulation for pharmacoresistant epilepsy secondary to encephalomalacia: A single-center retrospective study.
Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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5 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in drug-resistant epilepsy: A randomized, sham-controlled crossover trial with exploratory EEG and MRI response phenotyping.Epilepsia open · 2026Article
- A deep representation learning model to predict response to vagus nerve stimulation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Article
- Vagus nerve stimulation for epilepsy: A narrative review of factors predictive of response.Epilepsia · 2024Review
- Effect of vagus nerve stimulation against generalized seizure and status epilepticus recurrence.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjunctive treatment for pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Encephalomalacia is one of the most common MRI findings in the preoperative evaluation of patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. This is the first study that aimed to determine the effectiveness of VNS for pharmacoresistant epilepsy secondary to encephalomalacia and evaluate the potential predictors of VNS effectiveness. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the seizure outcomes of VNS with at least 1 year of follow-up in all patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy secondary to encephalomalacia. Based on the effectiveness of VNS (≥50% or <50% reduction in seizure frequency), patients were divided into two subgroups: responders and non-responders. Preoperative data were analyzed to screen for potential predictors of VNS effectiveness. Results: A total of 93 patients with epilepsy secondary to encephalomalacia who underwent VNS therapy were recruited. Responders were found in 64.5% of patients, and 16.1% of patients achieved seizure freedom at the last follow-up. In addition, the responder rate increased over time, with 36.6, 50.5, 64.5, and 65.4% at the 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-ups, respectively. After multivariate analysis, seizure onset in adults (>18 years old) (OR: 0.236, 95%CI: 0.059-0.949) was found to be a positive predictor, and the bilateral interictal epileptic discharges (IEDs) (OR: 3.397, 95%CI: 1.148-10.054) and the bilateral encephalomalacia on MRI (OR: 3.193, 95%CI: 1.217-8.381) were found to be negative predictors of VNS effectiveness. Conclusion: The results demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of VNS therapy in patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy secondary to encephalomalacia. Patients with seizure onset in adults (>18 years old), unilateral IEDs, or unilateral encephalomalacia on MRI were found to have better seizure outcomes after VNS therapy.
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