Alterative treatment of intractable epilepsy with focal brain cooling - A review of our past studies -

Focal cooling of the brain has the potential to terminate epileptic discharges. Therefore, in the present report, we review our past studies and discuss the future perspectives of brain cooling as a potential therapy for intractable epilepsy. The experiments were performed on Sprague-Dawley rats under halothane anesthesia. After craniotomy, the cooling device (Peltier chip) was placed on the cortical surface or inserted in the hippocampus. Kainic acid was then injected into either the cortex or hippocampus to provoke epileptiform discharges (EDs). Cortical cooling was also applied in patients with intractable epilepsy. The EDs decreased during either cortical or hippocampal cooling (20-25°C) in rats. The EDs diminished, and neurotransmitters, such as glutamate, were observed to decrease during cooling in epileptic patients. Both the effectiveness and safety of focal cooling for intractable epilepsy were demonstrated. Based on these data, developments of implantable focal cooling device have been promoted.