Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery
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Stereotact Funct Neurosurg · Jan 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialLong-term multicenter experience with vagus nerve stimulation for intractable partial seizures: results of the XE5 trial.
Intermittent stimulation of the left cervical vagus nerve trunk (VNS) with the NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis (NCP) is emerging as a novel adjunct in the management of medically refractory epilepsy. We review the safety and efficacy of VNS 1 year after completion of the E05 study, the largest controlled clinical trial of VNS to date. ⋯ The long-term multicenter safety, efficacy, feasibility and tolerability of VNS, as well as the durability of the NCP device have been confirmed. Unlike chronic therapy with antiepileptic medication, the efficacy of VNS is maintained during prolonged stimulation, and overall seizure control continues to improve with time.