{"title":"Significant reduction of seizure frequency in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy by vagus nerve stimulation: Systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Malaisamy Muniyandi, Karthick Chelvanayagam, Sahil Abdul Salam, Sathishkumar Vadamalai, Kavitha Rajsekar, Rajeswari Ramachandran","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2025.107510","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Epilepsy is a major neurological disorder, typically managed with Anti-Seizure Medication (ASM). Nevertheless, a substantial 30 % of patients did not respond satisfactorily to ASMs, classifying their condition as Drug-Resistant Epilepsy (DRE). Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) was recommended as a potential solution.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate clinical efficacy of VNS on patients with DRE in reduction of seizures through a systematic review and meta-analysis using a random effects model.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search was done from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar databases on observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the clinical effectiveness of VNS among DRE patients. A meta-analysis was performed to obtain the pooled estimate of the clinical effectiveness of VNS in terms of seizure reduction and the odds ratio (OR) for patients achieving > 50 % seizure reduction. Heterogeneity was assessed using visual inspection of forest plots and I<sup>2</sup> statistic.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 1023 articles were retrieved from the electronic search. After removing duplicates, non-relevance and non-availability of efficacy data, 28 articles were included in the final analysis. Of these, 9 are RCTs and 19 are observational studies. The pooled estimate of > 50 % seizure reduction was 0.46 (95 % CI: 0.40-0.51) and the pooled estimate of the OR comparing > 50 % vs ≤ 50 % seizure reduction was 0.76 (95 % CI: 0.44-1.29).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our meta-analysis showed that 46 % of DRE patients have experienced ≥ 50 % seizure reduction with VNS treatment. It should be considered in patients in whom ASM has failed or who continue to experience seizures after medication.</p>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"210 ","pages":"107510"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Epilepsy Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2025.107510","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Epilepsy is a major neurological disorder, typically managed with Anti-Seizure Medication (ASM). Nevertheless, a substantial 30 % of patients did not respond satisfactorily to ASMs, classifying their condition as Drug-Resistant Epilepsy (DRE). Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) was recommended as a potential solution.
Objective: To evaluate clinical efficacy of VNS on patients with DRE in reduction of seizures through a systematic review and meta-analysis using a random effects model.
Methods: A systematic search was done from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar databases on observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the clinical effectiveness of VNS among DRE patients. A meta-analysis was performed to obtain the pooled estimate of the clinical effectiveness of VNS in terms of seizure reduction and the odds ratio (OR) for patients achieving > 50 % seizure reduction. Heterogeneity was assessed using visual inspection of forest plots and I2 statistic.
Results: A total of 1023 articles were retrieved from the electronic search. After removing duplicates, non-relevance and non-availability of efficacy data, 28 articles were included in the final analysis. Of these, 9 are RCTs and 19 are observational studies. The pooled estimate of > 50 % seizure reduction was 0.46 (95 % CI: 0.40-0.51) and the pooled estimate of the OR comparing > 50 % vs ≤ 50 % seizure reduction was 0.76 (95 % CI: 0.44-1.29).
Conclusion: Our meta-analysis showed that 46 % of DRE patients have experienced ≥ 50 % seizure reduction with VNS treatment. It should be considered in patients in whom ASM has failed or who continue to experience seizures after medication.
期刊介绍:
Epilepsy Research provides for publication of high quality articles in both basic and clinical epilepsy research, with a special emphasis on translational research that ultimately relates to epilepsy as a human condition. The journal is intended to provide a forum for reporting the best and most rigorous epilepsy research from all disciplines ranging from biophysics and molecular biology to epidemiological and psychosocial research. As such the journal will publish original papers relevant to epilepsy from any scientific discipline and also studies of a multidisciplinary nature. Clinical and experimental research papers adopting fresh conceptual approaches to the study of epilepsy and its treatment are encouraged. The overriding criteria for publication are novelty, significant clinical or experimental relevance, and interest to a multidisciplinary audience in the broad arena of epilepsy. Review articles focused on any topic of epilepsy research will also be considered, but only if they present an exceptionally clear synthesis of current knowledge and future directions of a research area, based on a critical assessment of the available data or on hypotheses that are likely to stimulate more critical thinking and further advances in an area of epilepsy research.