Following FDA approval of the AspireSR® generator for the VNS Therapy® system in June 2015, more than a thousand patients with drug-resistant epilepsy across the United States have received this new treatment option. Many of these patients are experiencing benefits which have positively impacted their lives – and are sharing their stories during Epilepsy Awareness Month with the hope of encouraging others to seek new treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy. Numerous hospitals nationwide have begun providing the AspireSR device to patients with drug-resistant epilepsy – a condition that affects as many as one-third of people with epilepsy, causing them to have seizures in spite of treatment with antiepileptic medications.
The VNS Therapy system is a minimally invasive option in which a medical device is placed under the skin in the upper chest area during an outpatient procedure. The device sends mild electrical pulses through the vagus nerve to areas of the brain known to be associated with seizures. The new AspireSR generator takes the VNS Therapy technology a step further – detecting relative heart-rate increases that are often associated with seizures in people with epilepsy and providing responsive stimulation in an attempt to stop and shorten seizures and improve recovery.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7651751-livanova-aspiresr-treatment/
