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| Our Mission |
- Provide compassionate and state-of-the-art patient care for children and families with epilepsy
- Train medical students, residents, fellows and practicing physicians to provide the highest possible standard of care for children with epilepsy
- Make research discoveries in pediatric epilepsy and translate them from bench to bedside
- Strive to be one of the top 10 academic pediatric epilepsy programs in the United States
| Patient Care |
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Epilepsy Clinic
Outpatient care and consultation for infants, children, and adolescents with epilepsy or seizures is provided in several venues. Clinic consultation frequently includes additional testing, such as EEG or MRI brain imaging, to arrive at a comprehensive diagnosis and plan of management.
Pediatric epilepsy clinic settings include:
- Pediatric Epilepsy Clinic
- New Onset Seizure Clinic
- Children’s Rehabilitative Services (CRS) Clinic
Inpatient Services
Children requiring hospitalization for acute seizure-related problems receive their care on the pediatric units at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center (affiliated with the Barrow Neurological Institute), including our recently expanded and renovated medical-surgical pediatric floors and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU)
In July of 2008 we opened our 5–bed Pediatric Video-EEG Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU). This unit is wholly dedicated to the care and evaluation of children with epilepsy, and is staffed by pediatric nurses with extra training and expertise in caring for children with seizures. Video-EEG monitoring is performed to correctly diagnose recurrent seizures or spells, to clarify the exact seizure type for optimal medication treatment, or to evaluate patients with refractory epilepsy for possible epilepsy surgery.
Alternative Therapies for Epilepsy
The Barrow Pediatric Epilepsy Program is able to offer an array of proven alternative treatments for those patients who are not controlled with the conventional anti-seizure medications. These alternative therapies include epilepsy surgery, the ketogenic diet, the vagal nerve stimulator, and possible enrollment into investigational drug trials.
Hypothalamic Hamartoma Program
Barrow has the only multidisciplinary program for evaluating and treating patients with hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) in the United States. We are one of the leading programs in the world for hypothalamic hamartoma research including the development of innovative surgical therapies for this rare and disabling disorder.
Visit > Barrow Hypothalamic Hamartoma Center
| Teaching |
The Pediatric Epilepsy Program, as a unit within the Pediatric Neurology Division, is active in physician education and training, including medical students from our medical school affiliates, or students on elective from other medical schools throughout the country. We train resident physicians in pediatrics, neurology, pediatric neurology, and neurosurgery.
The pediatric epilepsy faculty is active with community education, including speaking to practicing physicians and patient groups.
Pediatric Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program
The Pediatric Epilepsy Program and Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, offers an ACGME-approved fellowship in Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology with a career emphasis in Pediatric Epilepsy. Our fellowship, in partnership with the Adult Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program, offers extensive experience with outpatient and inpatient EEG, EMG, Sleep Studies, and Intraoperative Monitoring.
For more information >
Pediatric Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program
| Clinical Research |
Research efforts within the Pediatric Epilepsy group at Barrow focus on direct improvements in patient care, including anti-seizure drug development. We participate in many of the national multi-center studies that research the safety and effectiveness of new medications that have not yet been approved by the FDA, and the impact of anti-seizure medications on learning and behavior.
We are also active with patient outcome research following surgical treatment. This includes evaluating the impact of surgery on seizure frequency, neuropsychological functioning, and quality of life (QOL).
Brain imaging is a strength of the Barrow Neurological Institute, and our pediatric epilepsy faculty work in collaboration with our neuroradiology colleagues to utilize and develop innovative imaging techniques such as functional MRI (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and voxel-based morphometry (VBM).
| Laboratory Research |
Members of the pediatric epilepsy group are also active with laboratory research.
- Pediatric Epilepsy Research Laboratory (Principal Investigator Jong M. Rho, M.D.), investigates basic molecular and cellular mechanisms relating to epilepsy and mitochondrial function. His laboratory has a specific interest in the basic mechanisms of the ketogenic diet treatment for epilepsy.
- Hypothalamic Hamartoma Tissue Research Laboratory (Principal Investigator John F. Kerrigan, M.D.) investigates the microanatomy and cellular features of hypothalamic hamartoma tissue, with the goal of discovering the mechanisms responsible for seizure activity in this epileptic tumor. Visit > HH Tissue Research Laboratory
Both laboratories are supported in part by NIH grants, and include training opportunities for students and post-doctoral research fellows.
| Faculty |
John F. Kerrigan, M.D.
Director, Pediatric Epilepsy Program
Jong M. Rho, M.D.
Director, Pediatric Epilepsy Research
Yu-tze Ng, M.D.
Pediatric Epilepsy
Kevin E. Chapman, M.D.
Pediatric Epilepsy
Matthew M. Troester, D.O.
Pediatric Epilepsy and Sleep Medicine
| Our Colleagues |
The pediatric epilepsy specialists at Barrow are members of the Pediatric Neurology Division, headed by John B. Bodensteiner, M.D. We are also members of the Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Division, headed by David Treiman, M.D.
Harold Rekate, M.D. and Ruth Bristol, M.D. are the pediatric neurosurgery team members.
We also work with a wonderful group of allied professionals, including nurse practitioners, clinical nurses, EEG technologists, social workers, child life specialists, dietitians, and office support staff. And, of course, our dedicated post-docs, students, and technologists in the research labs.
Pediatric Epilepsy Fellowship | Epilepsy Center | Child Neurology Program | Hypothalamic Hamartoma Center | Home
