Not all that glitters is gold: A guide to surgical trials in epilepsy.

ABSTRACT: Epilepsy surgery is often the only effective treatment in appropriately selected patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, a disease affecting about 30% of those with epilepsy. We review the evidence supporting the use of epilepsy surgery, with a focus on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Second, we identify gaps in knowledge about the benefits of epilepsy surgery for certain populations, the challenges of individualizing the choice of surgery, and our lack of understanding of the mechanisms of surgical outcomes. We conducted a search (MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, Clinicaltrials.gov) on March 2, 2016, to identify epilepsy surgery RCTs, systematic reviews, or health technology assessments (HTAs). Abstracts were screened to identify resective, palliative (e.g., corpus callosotomy, multiple sub

SUBMITTER: Jehi L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5867837 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature