The Epilepsy Center at Barrow Neurological Institute of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center offers a comprehensive program for the diagnosis and treatment of children and adults with epilepsy. In addition, the Epilepsy Center manages special populations of people with epilepsy, including patients with refractory epilepsy, elderly patients, and pregnant women. Every year the Epilepsy Center evaluates and treats thousands of people with epilepsy and seizure disorders from the U.S. and around the world.
Barrow's roots in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy date from 1950, when John R. Green, MD, Barrow's founding director, began performing epilepsy surgery in Phoenix—before Barrow was established in 1962. Green published numerous scientific reports on epilepsy surgery, including temporal lobe operations and epilepsy surgery for children and teenagers.
The Epilepsy Team
The highly experienced Barrow epilepsy team includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, neuroscience nurses, and clinical and basic researchers who focus exclusively on epilepsy and seizure disorders. Some of Barrow's neurologists and other clinical staff specialize in treating infants and children, while others specialize in treating only adults.
Epilepsy Milestones
Barrow is recognized as a leader in the development of new epilepsy-related treatments and surgical procedures, making it one of the foremost epilepsy programs in the United States. Barrow established the first dedicated epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) in metropolitan Phoenix area in 1991; Barrow's EMU now is the most active epilepsy monitoring program in the Southwest and one of the largest diagnostic monitoring units in the United states.
Barrow researchers are at the forefront of epilepsy research. In 1998 Barrow genetic scientists, led by Eric Johnson, PhD, identified FEB2, one of the genes related to febrile seizures in children. In 1999 Barrow scientists, including Eric Johnson, PhD and Joseph Zabramski, MD, participated in the discovery of KRIT1, one of the genes responsible for familial cerebral cavernous malformations, a major cause of epilepsy in Hispanics in the southwestern United States. In 1997, Barrow epilepsy specialist John F. Kerrigan, MD, and neurosurgeon Andrew Shetter, MD, piloted a research program for deep brain electrical stimulation for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. The technique, which involves placing stimulation electrodes into the anterior nucleus of the thalamus, is undergoing a multicenter study at major U.S. medical centers.
Barrow is home to one of only a few centers in the world that treat hypothalamic hamartomas (HH), a rare condition that causes seizures in infants and children. This ground-breaking clinical center, established in 2003, encompasses numerous disciplines that focus on evaluating, diagnosing, treating, and counseling patients and families with this devastating neurological disorder.
Barrow Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program
The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory at the Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, offers an ACGME-approved fellowship in Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology. The fellowship includes individualized Adult or Pediatric pathways, and offers extensive experience with outpatient and inpatient EEG, EMG, and Sleep Studies.
For more information, visit the Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program.
Research
Barrow Neurological Institute participates in ongoing clinical research studies to learn more about Epilepsy, click here to learn more.
Contact Us
For more information on the Epilepsy Center, please call 1-800-BARROW1 (227-7691) or 602-406-6281.
Neurotrauma Program | HH Research
