"Epilepsy https patients who have not responded to standard drug treatments may benefit from a new therapy that delivers high frequency bursts of electrical stimulation called microbursts to the brain. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is the first health care provider in the world to provide this treatment known as microburst vagus nerve stimulation. The treatment is akin to a heart pacemaker. A surgeon places an electronic pulse generator under the skin in the chest and attaches it to the left vagus nerve which runs down the side of the body from the stem of the brain through the neck and chest to the abdomen. The device sends regular electrical pulses through the vagus nerve to the brain to prevent epileptic seizures from occurring. The stimulators settings can be changed according to each patients needs using a special programming wand with no additional surgery needed. Dr. Rebecca ODwyer httpsdoctors.rush.eduDetails_ga.... assistant professor of neurology at Rush is participating in a nationwide clinical study of the initial safety and effectiveness of microburst vagus nerve stimulation in patients who have drugresistant epilepsy. She enrolled the first patient in the entire study on February . At the Rush Epilepsy Center https we regularly collaborate with members of the neurosurgery and neuroradiology department in our research endeavors. We look forward to the results of this study and hope we can bring relief to more people with epilepsy ODwyer said. Rush was the first hospital in Chicago to offer epilepsy patients the original vagal nerve stimulator which uses mild pulses of electricity after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it in  as an adjunctive treatment for drugresistant epilepsy. We are now exploring how higher frequency bursts delivered to the vagus nerve will affect epilepsy that does not respond to traditional therapies said ODwyer. The study consists of two groups of patients with epilepsy enrolling up to  patients in total at approximately  sites in the United States. The first group will include  patients with primary generalized tonicclonic seizures. The second group will consist of  patients with partial onset seizures including complex partial seizures with or without secondary generalization. Each patient will participate in the study for a minimum of  months. The study will measure the percent change in seizure frequency and occurrence of stimulationrelated adverse events in comparison to a patients baseline. Activation of various areas of the brain in response to stimulation will be assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI. Patients also will be evaluated to assess changes from baseline in seizure severity quality of life antiepileptic drug use suicidality and adverse events. To be considered for enrollment in the study or for information contact The Rush Epilepsy Center at  ."