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Jason Rowland,
14, plays a video game as his 7-year-old brother, Preston, looks on.
(Danny Chan La/The Salt Lake Tribune) |
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Jason
Rowland had suffered from violent epileptic seizures since he was an
infant, landing him in an emergency room dozens of times.
But the 14-year-old Murray boy has had an 18-month
reprieve
from the attacks after being implanted with a device called Vagus Nerve
Stimulation Therapy, often referred to as a pacemaker for the brain.
Doctors use it to treat epilepsy or chronic,
recurrent depression.
VNS Therapy consists of a small generator that is
implanted
under the skin in the left chest area. Made by Cyberonics, it delivers
mild electrical impulses to the brain through the vagus nerve in the
neck.
"It's been amazing," said his mother, Chrystal. "We
were at
the point where we were afraid to go anywhere far from a hospital
because of his seizures.
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Jason
Rowland, 14, had a Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy device implanted in
his chest to regulate the cycle of electric current to his brain. He is
shown with his mother, Chrystal. (Danny Chan La/The Salt Lake Tribune) |
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Now we can have family activities and not have to worry about it."
Physicians at Primary Children's Medical Center have
helped
Jason and other epileptic patients since 1999 with the technology.
Although it is not approved by the Food and Drug
Administration for children under 12, it has become the standard of
care for people who don't respond to other interventions, including
medications and a Ketogenic diet, which is high in fats and low in
carbohydrates.
"I think there's been a pretty dramatic change with
Jason,"
said Colin Van Orman, a child neurologist at Primary Children's and an
associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at the U. "He was
having so many seizures before [that] he wasn't recovering well from
them. This has made a big difference for him."
Jason also has cerebral palsy and cannot speak. But
he
understands what's going on around him, attends public school and is an
avid movie and video game fan with a special affinity for the Harry
Potter series.
Jason has had so much success with VNS Therapy that
he has
been able to decrease his medication, and as a result, now has more
energy.
"We could see so much improvement when we took him
off most of
his medications," Chrystal said. "Before he was like a zombie. He was
lethargic."
Jason also has progressed at school, jumping two
grade levels to catch up with his peers.
His last seizure took place in August 2004 when the
device's
battery faltered. They need to be replaced every five to 10 years.
Doctorsset
the parameters to different levels for each patient. When Jason starts
having trouble, his parents can increase the impulses by using a
magnet, which typically stops the seizure.
The Rowlands thought long and hard about VNS Therapy
for Jason, the oldest of their six children.
"We knew it was experimental for his age," Chrystal
said. "We
had already gone through all of the medications so we felt it was the
right thing to do."
Van Orman said children often are the "orphans" when
it comes to research.
"It's a group of the population that doesn't have the
same
voice," he said. "There is some concern about conducting research in
children, but we shouldn't deprive children of medical benefits."
Van Orman is confident in using VNS Therapy in
children,
considering the results he's seen. "Jason is a child who has done
extremely well," he said.
About 25 percent of children will get no benefit; 25
percent
will get a modest benefit; and the remainder have their seizures cut by
at least 50 percent, he said.
"There are very few individuals who become
seizure-free, but
its advantage is it's well tolerated and there are no side effects," he
said. "Their mood and behavior improves."
chamilton@sltrib.com
VNS Therapy
A small generator, implanted in a patient's chest,
delivers mild
electrical impulses to the brain through the vagus nerve in the neck.
For some patients, the device leads to:
* Less severe or shorter seizures
* Better mood
* Improved alertness
* Improved memory and cognition
* Fewer emergency room visits
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