At the UW Medicine Regional Epilepsy Center, based at Harborview Medical Center, teams of specialists in adult and pediatric neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology and neuropsychology, as well as nurses, social workers, vocational rehabilitation specialists and electrodiagnostic technicians, diagnose and treat difficult seizure problems.

UW Medicine's Regional Epilepsy Center offers a system-wide, integrated, multidisciplinary program for the comprehensive clinical care of epilepsy, including conventional, as well as new, innovative electrodiagnostic and brain imaging methods to correctly diagnose seizures and determine their underlying cause.  The center also works in partnership with referring physicians across the Northwest and the rest of the United States to diagnose and treat all types of seizure disorders among children and adults.

Care for all types of uncontrolled epilepsy

Chronic recurrent seizures (epilepsy) impact the lives of more than 2.5 million people in the United States. While primary care and emergency physicians often initially diagnose and treat epilepsy, referral to a neurologist may be considered if seizures are not controlled within three months. If seizures cannot be controlled within one year, referral to a specialty epilepsy center is usually recommended. Epilepsy centers affiliated with a university medical school have capabilities in diagnosing and treating all types of uncontrolled epilepsy and offer care for the most complex and difficult seizure problems.

Fortunately, most people with epilepsy eventually respond to treatment and can return to normal lives. Newly developed treatments and surgery make it possible to control seizure disorders once thought to be untreatable. However, many who could be helped with these treatments are not currently receiving them.

Services include:

• All conventional medical and dietary treatments
• New (investigational) antiepileptic drug treatments
• Neurosurgical treatment
• Vagus nerve stimulator implantation and management
• Neuropsychological effects of epilepsy on neurocognitive and emotional functioning
• Education, counseling, and job placement.
• Wada assessments to determine lateralization of speech and memory.

If you have questions about our services, please contact us via e-mail: epilepsy@u.washington.edu or by phone: 206-744-3576.  Or phone toll free: 1-800-374-3627 (1-800-EPI-DOCS)

Directions to Harborview Medical Center