More advances in technology for people who struggle with epilepsy in Puerto Rico

More advances in technology for people who struggle with epilepsy in Puerto Rico They stand out for delivering accurate diagnostics related to neurological conditions. They ''heal'',through surgeries, patients diagnosed with focal epilepsy and they count on the only epileptologyst subspecialized on neuroimaging in Puerto Rico. We're talking about Dr. Javier Chapa Dávila, one of the eight epileptologists of the Hima San Pablo hospital unit. Created on 2008 by Dr. Ignacio Pita García, who's also part of the department of the Medical Sciences Campus at the University Of Puerto Rico. Among this group of doctors are Dra. Blanca Vázquez, who served as director of the epilepsy program at NYU, Dr. José Arias, sub director of the Hima San Pablo unit and Dr. Rafael López. Dr. Chapa, neurologist and epileptologyst, studied neurology at the Medical Sciences Campus (MSC) at the University of Puerto Rico, then he transfered to Case Western Reserve University Hospital of Ohio, where he specialized in neurophysiology and epilepsy. He finished his neuroimaging subspecialization at the University of Buffalo. Among all these members specialized on epilepsy, this young doctor, besides being essential to determine if a patient diagnosed with epilepsy qualifies for the surgery, is the direct support for his colleagues since his sub specialization helps diagnose various types of neurological conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and Multiple Sclerosis. ''This has allowed me to complete my team. This work makes possible to read MRI images, head scans and it shows me the central nervous system that wraps the spinal cord and the spinal column. It helps me diagnose people who suffer from other neurological disorders. It's an extra tool that helps me learn more about patient care.'' he said exclusively to and interview made by ''La Revista Puertorriqueña de Medicina y Salud Pública (MSP)''. ''It helps us too to give accurate diagnosis for these other conditions. It's the image of the injury. Let's take for example a patient with multiple sclerosis. The neuroimaging shows me the pattern of the injury and allows me to diagnose. Another example is the Alzheimer's disease. I can see if there's an specific atrophy and helps me to differentiate it from other types of dementia'', he explained. A surgery that ''heals'' It should be pointed out that HIMA's Epilepsy Unit, is the only place in Puerto Rico that makes epilepsy surgery, procedure that consists on removing part of the brain where the epileptic focus is located. This new procedure is done only on patients where the epileptic focus has been identified. The succes of the procedure could improve the quality of life of the patient by an 80% and it can even rule out the condition. This type of surgery has been barely performed since 2011 and it has been very successful, curing people, they are now seizure free. However, if the epileptic focus ins located in the ''eloquent'' part of the brain, area where memory, sensation, strength or vision, the patient might not qualify for this kind of surgery. Until now, approximately 30-40 patients, have benefit from the operation. ''Trough surgery we identify the epileptic focus, we remove the part of the brain that's damaged and the patient remains seizure free. This presents a cure for the condition but is only done on patients where the epileptic focus is located, unlike patients with general epilepsy, who also have great treatments.'', he said. In the same way, the equipment allows specialists characterize the type of epilepsy the patient has, or the opposite, rectify an incorrect diagnosis. This way they can establish the correct treatment for the patient. Regarding patients with general epilepsy, the doctor said that there are other options for treatment, among them, the Carpus Collosotomy Surgery, where a part of the brain is cut. This interrupts the spreading of seizures from one hemisphere to the other. Ready for the first invasive study in Puerto Rico The team is prepared to see the first patient that moves to the 2nd face of the study. The electrodes will be inserted in the brain, allowing the doctors establish the location of the epileptic focus. Until now, the only study made on the island was the phase 1 study, better known as an electroencephalogram(EEG). It consists on placing superficial electrodes on the head and it helps track cerebral activity and abnormal discharges of the brain. When the necessary information is not obtained, specialists need the procedure of phase 2, electrodes inserted on the brain (ECP). Before, the patients in need of this study were referred to the United States. ''When we can't locate the epileptic focus the procedure is needed. Now, this patients won't have to travel. The procedure will be realized here, in Puerto Rico''. It's the most advanced study that the United States and Puerto Rico have right now. We are, approximately, on the first 30 epilepsy units, joined by the 400 located on the United States, and here, the procedure has lower costs, said proudly, Dr. Chapa Dávila. According to the doctor, there's approximately 27,000 patients with epilepsy, the equivalent of 0.8% of the puertorican population. Article originally written by:Belinda Z. Burgos González Article is in spanish, here's the link: http://www.medicinaysaludpublica.com/avanza-la-medicina-contra-la-epilepsia-en-puerto-rico/