"A experimental device that delivers electrical pulses to the forehead can help control epileptic seizures say scientists at the University of California Los Angeles. The device works by stimulating the trigeminal nerve which runs just beneath the skin covering the eyebrows. Electrical signals follow that nerve to areas in the brain where seizures often begin researchers say. The approach which is not yet approved by the FDA could offer an alternative or enhancement to treatment with drugs says Christopher DeGiorgio the neurologist at UCLA who invented the new approach. Medications can cause mood problems fatigue or problems with thinking for some people DeGiorgio says. I see this as an alternative because it doesnt cause those side effects. About  million Americans have epilepsy and for about onethird of them drugs alone do not control their seizures. A study of  people with drugresistant epilepsy found that the trigeminal nerve stimulator was able to greatly reduce seizures for about  percent of them. For me its extremely effective says Jennifer Rees  who lives in the Los Angeles area and has been using the nerve stimulator for six years. Rees says that before using the stimulator she was having up to eight seizures a month. The device alone reduced that to about one seizure a year. And she hasnt had any seizures since she added low doses of a medication more than  months ago. Article continues after this message from our sponsor The device is appealing because it doesnt require surgery doesnt have side effects and is very easy to use Rees says. She wears her device while she sleeps. For me all it involved was putting two gel pads above my eyebrows one on each eyebrow she says. The device causes a slight tingling sensation on her skin she says. Researchers believe electrical pulses can act like a sort of pacemaker in the brain heading off the chaotic electrical storms that cause epileptic seizures. And the trigeminal nerve stimulator is not the first time researchers have used electrical pulses to prevent seizures. In  the FDA approved a device that stimulates another nerve that leads to the brain  the vagus nerve. But stimulating the vagus nerve requires surgery to implant a device near the collarbone. The trigeminal nerve stimulator in contrast never penetrates the skin and is powered by an external device about the size of a large cell phone DeGiorgio says. And DeGiorgio says hes found an interesting benefit to trigeminal nerve stimulation. It tends to relieve depression which is common among people with epilepsy."