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Specialty Care Center for Adolescents and Teens with Epilepsy
The Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center offers state-of-the-art medical and surgical treatment for the management of epilepsy in adults, adolescents and teens, and children, helping patients gain control of their seizures and optimize their quality of life.
An estimated two and half million people in the United States are affected with epilepsy. A majority of those affected are managed successfully with a drug regimen. The Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center can help patients who have tried at least two different drug treatments without success. Here patients benefit from the intervention of an experienced multidisciplinary team that includes epileptologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, EEG technologists, nurse practitioners, neuropsychologists and psychiatrists. Any patient who is not responding to medical therapy is appropriate for referral (either by a physician or self-referred) to the specialty care of the Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.
The Neurological Institute of Columbia University Medical Center has a rich history of focus on epilepsy. Dr. Houston Merritt, Chair of Neurology at Columbia-Presbyterian from 1948 to 1967, along with Columbia faculty member Dr. Tracy Putnam, developed Dilantin, which is still the most commonly used antiepileptic medication in the United States. Since those early days, our physicians have had a strong emphasis on epilepsy, with rich collaborations among multiple clinical and research departments, including neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, and the Psychiatric Institute. Our Chairman of Neurology today, Dr. Timothy Pedley, is an epilepsy specialist and, in 2006, Dr. Pedley received the William G. Lennox Award of the American Epilepsy Society for lifetime achievements. Dr. Pedley is a co-editor of Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook, a three-volume work now in its second edition. Our physicians and researchers have published extensively on a range of topics in epilepsy and have lectured around the world on topics in the field.
The Specialty Care Center for Adolescents and Teens with Epilepsy, a component of the Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, is the only specialty care center for the treatment of adolescents and teens with epilepsy and seizure disorders. The average age of onset of epilepsy is 9 to 12. Children and teens with epilepsy have a unique set of circumstances. They are starting to develop their own identity, seeking to gain independence from their parents. This can be a particularly challenging stage for parents who have dedicated themselves to managing their child's care and now need to hand over the responsibility for medication compliance. Our staff are dedicated to helping teens and adolescents cope with epilepsy during a time when they are seeking independence, trying out adult decisions and behaviors, and learning about the changes in their body and how they will impact their medical issues.
The combination of a world-renowned faculty, the facilities of a premiere teaching facility -- Columbia University Medical Center, and the wide range of resources of New York's top ranked Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian -- provides patients with access to the most advanced care available.
