Neurology & Neurosurgery

Comprehensive Epilepsy Center

Epilepsy is a neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures caused by electrical disturbances in brain activity. Epilepsy affects 65 million people worldwide and 3.4 million people in the United States. One in twenty-six people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime. Each year, approximately 150,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed. Epilepsy can develop at any age and has numerous causes such as traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, stroke, infection, or a degenerative illness such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Living with epilepsy can present a challenge in many aspects of daily life. It is important to manage these challenges with a multidisciplinary team which offers a specialized approach to various issues related to epilepsy. The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is the only epilepsy center in Queens to offer this multidisciplinary care. Our epileptologists, along with a team of neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, psychiatrists, and social workers work together to deliver comprehensive care to improve quality of life for epilepsy patients.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Comprehensive Epilepsy Center offers the following services:

• Electrodiagnostic testing including EEG, Ambulatory EEG and Video EEG monitoring
• Epilepsy Monitoring Unit that includes a staff with specialized training in management of seizures
• Advanced neuroimaging modalities including MRI and PET scan
• Collaboration with Weill Cornell Epilepsy Center to offer a wide variety of surgical options for treatment of epilepsy
• Expert neurologists that are board certified in neurology and epilepsy
• Pharmacologic expertise to determine the best medication for treatment
• Support services that provides access to social workers, psychiatrists and neuropsychologists

Epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU)

To provide an accurate diagnosis, video-electroencephalography (vEEG) monitoring has become an essential component for the comprehensive evaluation of epilepsy. It can be used to differentiate epileptic seizures from non-epileptic events or other causes of paroxysmal neurological events. It is also a necessary test to determine the location of the seizure focus if surgical treatment is an option.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Epilepsy Monitoring Unit is a two-bed, specialized unit that provides in-depth diagnostic and treatment services for patients with epilepsy. A team of specialists that include epileptologists, nurses and EEG technologists supervise patients continuously while the patient undergoes video EEG monitoring for an extended period. The continuous supervision offers the ability to respond rapidly to a seizure at any given time. The EMU helps to improve the quality of care for epilepsy patients and offers the Queens community a specialized level of care without having to travel to another borough.