Center for Advanced Epilepsy Care
Sahlgrenska University Hospital is one of Sweden's largest healthcare providers for advanced epilepsy care. The Center for Advanced Epilepsy Care coordinates specialized competence in the field.
The Center for Advanced Epilepsy Care at Sahlgrenska University Hospital was established in 2019 and is a national leader in the treatment and care of people with rare and complex epilepsies. Adults and children with difficult-to-treat epilepsy are referred here from the Västra Götaland region, but also from all of Sweden, as well as from Denmark and Norway. The Västra Götaland region, with Sahlgrenska University Hospital as the provider, has permission to conduct national specialized medical care within epilepsy surgery investigation and treatment of patients with difficult-to-treat epilepsy. National Specialized Care is also provided in Region Skåne and Uppsala. Sahlgrenska University Hospital is the sole provider in the country of rare surgery; hemispherectomy, callosotomy, and surgery for hypothalamic hamartomas.
Organization of the Center for Advanced Epilepsy Care
- Director: Johan Zelano, consultant neurology, associate professor
- Associate director: Tove Hallböök, consultant pediatric neurology, associate professor
- Contact persons: Coordinators for adult patients: epilepsy nurse Kristina Lisovska, kristina.sentevska@vgregion.se and epilepsy nurse Christina Charling, christina.charling@vgregion.se
- Coordinator for children: epilepsy nurse Karin Johnsson, karin.e.Johnsson@vgregion.se
A multi-professional team surrounding the patient
The highly specialized epilepsy team is multi-professional and multi-disciplinary, which means that it includes many experienced people in a range of healthcare professions: adult and pediatric neurologists specifically focused on epilepsy, epilepsy nurses, neuropsychologists, neurosurgeons with extensive experience in the surgical treatment of epilepsy, clinical neurophysiologists and neuroradiologists. In addition, there is close collaboration with geneticists, clinical physiologists and specialists in neurological metabolic diseases. Furthermore, there is access to physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, dieticians and counsellors who work specifically with epilepsy for both children and adults.
Sweden's leader in epilepsy surgery investigations
Sahlgrenska University Hospital has extensive experience and competence in available epilepsy treatments for both children and adults. This may involve additional drug treatment, dietary treatment, vagus nerve stimulation or precision treatment/individualized treatment based on the underlying cause, for example a specific genetic epilepsy. For some, surgical treatment is a good option. For a long time, Sahlgrenska University Hospital has been a leader in Sweden regarding epilepsy surgery investigations and the number of operations, and has the largest combined competence in this area. Many operations are preceded by complicated investigations. We also develop new investigative and operational methods. We collaborate with doctors at the patient's place of residence, if necessary carry out consultative interventions for people with difficult-to-treat epilepsy or take over the investigation and treatment of the patient for longer or shorter periods.
European collaboration for the patient
The Center for Advanced Epilepsy Care at Sahlgrenska University Hospital represents Sweden in EpiCARE, a European reference network within the EU for rare and complex epilepsies. In the network, epilepsy specialists and patient representatives from 36 centers in 24 EU countries work together to improve healthcare for people with rare and complex epilepsies in Europe.
Map: EpiCARE in Europe
Karta: EpiCARE i Europa
As an EpiCARE center, we have a national responsibility to improve epilepsy healthcare in Sweden and have collaborations and regular video conferences with other national highly specialized centers. At the video conferences, individual rare and difficult patient cases are discussed, and if necessary, we can bring cases to the European video conferences and thus have access to a large pool of European expertise. This widens the network of contacts around patients with rare epilepsies and increases equality for people with epilepsy who are then able to access the right expertise in epilepsy healthcare regardless of place of residence.
Links – read more about epilepsy
- The Swedish Epilepsy Foundation epilepsi.se
- The Swedish Neuroregister where the Swedish Epilepsy Register is listed neuroreg.se
- EpiCARE epi-care.eu
- MOVIE: EU projects: How the EU created contacts between specialists in order to treat epilepsy
Epilepsy research with several focuses
The research that is conducted at the Center for Advanced Epilepsy Care consists of several separate groups with different areas of focus. Here you can read more about current research in epilepsy at Sahlgrenska Unversity Hospital.
The Sahlgrenska Podcast – about difficult-to-treat epilepsy
Recently a 3-month old patient with epilepsy, with several seizure per day, was operated on at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. In the process the European reference network for rare and complex epilepsies, EpiCARE, was consulted.