Epilepsy strikes 40 to 50 million people worldwide, particularly young children and adults over the age of 60. For many, treatment is a daily dose of anti-convulsant medication used to stave off the unpredictable seizures, which may occur only every six months. New research suggests, however, that it could be possible to predict seizures up to 30 minutes in advance through the use of EEG brain wave measurements.

That’s prompted scientists to explore the feasibility of an alternative therapy called a “brain defibrillator,” a device implanted in the body that could detect forthcoming seizures and deliver a stimulus that could abort an attack. In this new book edited by Ohio University physicist Peter Jung and University of Chicago neurologist John Milton, scholars from the United States and Europe discuss the science behind this neurological disorder and the mechanisms by which a brain defibrillator could work.

In one chapter, Jung and his collaborators, whose research is funded by the National Science Foundation, examine how cells in the nervous system called astrocytes may play a role in epilepsy. Jung and Milton conclude the collection of articles by exploring the possibility of developing the theoretical defibrillator therapy, which they note could help epileptics avoid the side effects of medication.

PETER JUNG & JOHN MILTON
Springer. 417 pages. www.springer.de/phys/