A clinical research study, titled the Early Randomized Surgical Epilepsy Trial (ERSET), is evaluating two standard therapies provided by epilepsy specialists -- treatment with medications and treatment with surgery -- to compare the ability of each to eliminate seizures and side effects as soon as possible, and to improve quality of life.

ERSET, which is sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, offers an opportunity for eligible participants and their families to learn about early treatment for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), the most common form of epilepsy. ERSET will also provide eligible participants with care at epilepsy centers in the United States, including Swedish Medical Center. One of 18 sites participating, Swedish is the only center west of Minnesota and north of San Francisco.

Research shows that MTLE may be progressive in nature, especially in children. As seizures continue, they can cause irreversible disturbances in nerve-cell function, preventing normal brain development.

"Data suggests that seizures can cause memory loss and affect a child's ability to learn and pay attention in school," said David Vossler, Swedish Medical Center neurologist and the hospital's co-principal investigator on ERSET. "Persistence of seizures during adolescence and early adulthood commonly cause irreversible social and psychological consequences."

"This is an important study and we expect that it will answer key questions about treatment choices and the timing of surgical treatment when seizures are difficult to control," said Eric R. Hargis, president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation. "Deciding when or whether to continue treatment with medications or to have surgery can be difficult and stressful for people with epilepsy and their families. The results of this study will, we hope, make those decisions easier and in the long run will improve quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients."

Thirty percent of individuals with epilepsy have seizures that are intractable, meaning their seizures do not respond to medications. MTLE is often found to be intractable, and seizure intractability may be predicted with a high degree of confidence after two antiepileptic medications have proven ineffective. There are more than 20 antiepileptic medications, and specific therapies often depend on a patient's seizure type and how long they have been having seizures.

ERSET is looking to enroll approximately 200 participants across the United States. Eligible participants must be at least 12 years old and must also have experienced life-disrupting seizures for no more than two years. If they experienced seizures earlier in life that stopped and subsequently re-emerged, they may still be eligible for this clinical research study. In addition, participants must have tried at least two different antiepileptic medications.