Pediatric Epilepsy

Seizures can be frightening, but they don’t have to take over your child’s daily life. With the right care, many kids manage epilepsy effectively. At Children’s Hospital, our Level 4 epilepsy center provides the region’s most advanced testing and treatment options for this common neurological condition.

Epilepsy occurs when nerve cells in the brain misfire, leading to seizures. These episodes can look different for every child and may include symptoms like muscle jerks, rapid blinking or brief loss of awareness.

If your child has two seizures at least 24 hours apart without a known cause, they could have epilepsy. Our pediatric neurologists are here to help your family find answers and provide a personalized care plan for your child.

Our Epilepsy Care Team

At our center, you’ll benefit from team-based epilepsy care from experienced pediatric specialists, including:

Pediatric neurologists: Manage your child’s epilepsy care plan.
Pediatric neurosurgeons: Offer implantable devices and other treatments to reduce seizures.
Neuroradiologists: Perform advanced imaging tests to check your child’s brain.
Pediatric neuropsychologists: Assess your child’s thinking, memory and behavior for signs of brain injury.
Child life specialists: Help reduce your child’s stress during tests or treatments with distraction and other methods.
Pediatric nurses: Provide support and resources.
Geneticists and genetic counselors: Can test for genetic mutations linked to epilepsy.
Social workers: Can help arrange resources at school to support your child.

Epilepsy Symptoms

Epilepsy causes seizures that can affect kids differently. Possible signs of a seizure include:

Appearing “dazed” or staring
Rapid blinking
Head nodding
Muscle spasms
Strange visions, sounds, smells or tastes
Headaches
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Losing consciousness

Getting Help for Seizures

After your child has a seizure, it’s important not to wait to get answers. Without treatment, seizures can harm your child’s brain and development. Our pediatric neurologists have a rapid response protocol, so you can usually see our team for a full evaluation within one to two weeks.

Your pediatrician or primary care provider can refer you to us. Or you can reach out to our team directly if your child has a seizure. We have experience treating kids with even the most complex types of epilepsy and often provide second opinions for families.

What Causes Epilepsy

Epilepsy, the most common neurological condition in kids, can develop at any time. While many seizures occur without a known reason, issues that can cause epilepsy include:

Genetics
Head trauma
Stroke
Brain tumors
Brain malformations, such as focal cortical dysplasia (FCD)
Infections
Prenatal injuries

Kids with autism or other developmental delays also have a higher risk of seizures.

However, not all seizures are related to epilepsy. For example, fevers can sometimes cause seizures, called febrile seizures, in kids. That’s why getting a diagnosis from experts who specialize in treating epilepsy is important.

Epilepsy Treatment at MU Health Care

Our pediatric neurologists and pediatric neurosurgeons offer all the latest therapies for epilepsy, including medical and surgical treatments.

Medication

It may be possible to get your child’s epilepsy under control with anti-seizure medicines called anticonvulsants. With more than 20 anti-epilepsy medications available, your pediatric neurologist can personalize your child’s treatment based on their specific needs.

We’ll set up follow-up visits so we can ensure your child is taking the right dosage to manage their seizures. You can expect to see our team every three to six months. As your child gets older, they may be able to stop taking medication and live without seizures.

Implantable Devices (Vagus Nerve Stimulators and Deep Brain Stimulation)

Our pediatric neurologists and pediatric neurosurgeons work together to provide innovative devices to reduce seizures in kids. Options include:

Vagus nerve stimulators: Small external devices connected to a wire that stimulates a nerve in the neck. These devices can be used alone or with medication to control seizures.
Deep nerve stimulation: Involves placing electrodes in the brain that deliver regularly timed electrical signals to reduce seizures.

Minimally Invasive Brain Surgery

If a brain tumor or malformation is causing seizures, our pediatric neurosurgeons may be able to remove it using minimally invasive techniques, which usually involve less pain and scarring, as well as a faster recovery. Our surgeons can also use lasers to treat brain tissue where seizures develop.

Before surgery, our team will carefully plan the procedure. We may perform a Wada test, which involves pinpointing parts of the brain that control functions like memory and language. Such planning and testing can help reduce the risks associated with brain surgery.

Clinical Trials

As part of an academic health system, our team participates in many clinical trials of promising epilepsy treatments. If standard treatment doesn’t reduce your child’s seizures, we can discuss advanced options that might not be available elsewhere.