Docs say could be boon for epilepsy patients; ROSE trials at AIIMS, VIMHANS to study radiosurgery versus open surgery
Seven epilepsy patients at AIIMS have been recruited as participants in a 19-centre international study to investigate new treatment regimens as alternatives to existing norms of anti-epileptic medication.
Funded by the research wing of the US Department of Health, the Radiosurgery or Open Surgery for Epilepsy(ROSE) trial is pioneered by doctors from the University of California, San Francisco.
VIMHANS, also in New Delhi, is the other Indian centre joining the trial. The two centres have been registered with the Clinical Trials Registry of India.
Dr S S Kale, Professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS, said: "Epilepsy management is largely dependent on anti-convulsant medicines that control seizures, but have lots of side effects, and often cannot manage the seizures completely. Some specialists are also trying open brain surgeries to remove the seizure focus in the brain. But this goes with all the risks of an open-brain procedure."
This interventional trial is trying to explore the benefits of a new procedure — radiosurgery, or minimally invasive surgery through focused radiation, that damages the seizure focus instead of surgically removing it. With no requirement of hospital stay or critical procedures associated with surgery like craniotomy — temporary removal of a bone flap in the skull to access the brain — this treatment, if successful, will be a boon for epilepsy patients.
Dr Kale said: "We plan to enrol up to 30 participants in our centre over the next two years. If proved effective, this will provide relief to epilepsy patients without the side effects of medication, or the risks of open surgeries."
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