Epilepsy Research Group
Short description
The Epilepsy Research Group has a wide range of clinical research interests: biomarkers for epilepsy, development and outcome of various antiepileptic treatments, comorbidities in epilepsy, cognitive effects of epilepsy or epilepsy treatment, health economics and qualitative studies with interviews with patients with epilepsy and/or their carers or family members. The Epilepsy Research Group has both national and international collaborations.
Epilepsy surgery - methodological development and treatment outcomes
For selected persons with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, surgical treatment is an efficient and well-established treatment. Epilepsy surgery may be resective, i e, the area of the brain in which the seizures start is surgically removed. The aim is for the patient to become seizure free, or have a significant reduction in seizure frequency. In resective epilepsy surgery it is important to define the seizure onset zone and to tailor the planned operation accordingly. Epilepsy surgery can also be palliative, where the goal is limited to reduce or abolish a certain kind of seizures. The most common procedure is callosotomy, where the connection between the hemispheres is divided in order to prevent rapid spread of seizures and reduce the number of so-called drop attacks.
Our research includes methodological development of neuroimaging as well as treatment outcomes. We study the outcomes of epilepsy surgery both in our own consecutive cohort of patients and also for all patients operated in Sweden through the Swedish National Epilepsy Surgery Register, which contains data for all patients operated since 1990.
We investigate many relevant outcomes: seizure outcome and its predictors both short- and long-term (follow-up up to 20 years after surgery); complications; cognitive effects; vocational outcome; mortality and comorbidities; health-related quality of life; personal perceptions. We use both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Group members
Principal Investigator:
Kristina Malmgren
Professor, överläkare i neurologi
Researchers:
Elinor Ben-Menachem, gästprofessor, överläkare i neurologi
Johan Bjellvi, med dr, överläkare i neurologi
Dongni Buvarp, med dr, examinerad läkare
Anna Edelvik, med dr, överläkare i neurologi
David Krýsl, med dr, specialistläkare i neurolog och klinisk neurofysiolog
Daniel Nilsson, docent, överläkare i neurokirurgi
Ingrid Olsson, docent, överläkare i barnneurologi
Anneli Ozanne, docent, universitetslektor, sjuksköterska
Petra Redfors, med dr, överläkare i neurologi
Bertil Rydenhag, professor, överläkare i neurokirurgi
Hans Samuelsson, docent, neuropsykolog
Johan Zelano, docent, specialistläkare i neurologi
PhD students:
Klara Andersson, ST-läkare i neurologi
Hanna Eriksson, AT-läkare
David Larsson, ST-läkare i neurologi
Sofia Ljunggren, neuropsykolog
Zamzam Mahamood, AT-läkare
Jesper Reinholdson, ST-läkare i barnmedicin
Jakob Rosén, AT-läkare
Forskarförberedande studier:
Cecilia Granthon, ST-läkare i neurologi
Research assistent:
Judith Klecki
