Research in the Treatment of Epilepsy Seizures
At our academic medical center, we specialize in improving outcomes for patients living with seizure disorders through innovative research, collaborative partnerships, and clinical trials. Our work integrates neurology, neurosurgery, genetics, pharmacology, and biomedical engineering to push the boundaries of epilepsy treatment and care.
Epilepsy Core Research Areas
- Clinical trials and experimental treatments—We conduct clinical trials to explore new medications, neurostimulation devices, and surgical techniques to better manage epilepsy. We are involved in numerous clinical studies looking at new anti-seizure medications and are actively enrolling subjects. We are one of the sites for the NeuroPace Post-Approval study and have significant experience with neuromodulation. We are pioneers in testing new devices for the treatment or monitoring of epilepsy.
- Epilepsy biomarkers and precision medicine—Our team is pioneering genetic testing and molecular profiling to predict seizure patterns and treatment responses. This also helps us characterize post-traumatic epilepsy in collaboration with the VA.
- Advanced imaging and neurophysiology—We are mapping seizure networks using high-resolution MRI, fMRI-EEG fusion, SPECT, and functional neuroimaging to improve surgical planning and patient outcomes.
- Innovative surgical and neurostimulation techniques—We are testing and refining laser interstitial thermal therapy, responsive neurostimulation (RNS), and deep brain stimulation for drug-resistant epilepsy, and AI-driven seizure detection technologies.
- Impact of epilepsy on cognitive and mental health—We study long-term cognitive effects of epilepsy and how treatment impacts memory, executive function, and mental health.
Meet the Epilepsy Research Team
Comprehensive Epilepsy Program
The University of Utah Health Epilepsy Program is nationally recognized for its expertise in epilepsy diagnosis and treatment. Our multidisciplinary team of physicians and medical professionals provide a comprehensive approach to diagnose and manage seizure disorders and epilepsy.
We offer advanced diagnostic testing and treatment options:
Recent Epilepsy Publications
Arain AM, Mirro EA, Brown D, Peters A, Newman B, Richards S, Rolston JD. Long-term Intracranial EEG Lateralization of Epileptogenicity in Patients With Confirmed or Suspected Bilateral Mesial Temporal Lobe Onsets During Epilepsy Surgical Evaluation. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology. 2024 Sep 1;41(6):522-9.
Yearley AG, Smith EH, Davis TS, Anderson D, Arain AM, Rolston JD. Interictal discharge traveling waves recorded from stereoelectroencephalography electrodes. Journal of Neurosurgery. 2024 May 24;1(aop):1-9.
Charlebois CM, Anderson DN, Smith EH, Davis TS, Newman BJ, Peters AY, Arain AM, Dorval AD, Rolston JD, Butson CR. Circadian changes in aperiodic activity are correlated with seizure reduction in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy treated with responsive neurostimulation. Epilepsia. 2024 May;65(5):1360-73.
Campbell JM, Yost S, Gautam D, Herich A, Botros D, Slaughter M, Chodakiewitz M, Arain A, Peters A, Richards S, Newman B, Johnson B, Rahimpour S, Shofty B. Delays in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy: A cohort study. Epilepsia. 2024 May;65(5):1314-1321.
Anderson DN, Charlebois CM, Smith EH, Davis TS, Peters AY, Newman BJ, Arain AM, Wilcox KS, Butson CR, Rolston JD. Closed-loop stimulation in periods with less epileptiform activity drives improved epilepsy outcomes. Brain. 2024 Feb 1;147(2):521-531.
Ernst LD, Raslan AM, Wabulya A, Shin HW, Cash SS, Yang JC, Sagi V, King-Stephens D, Damisah EC, Ramos A, Hussain B, Toprani S, Brandman DM, Shahlaie K, Kanth K, Arain A, Peters A, Rolston JD, Berns M, Patel SI, Uysal U. Responsive neurostimulation as a treatment for super-refractory focal status epilepticus: a systematic review and case series. Journal of Neurosurgery. 2023 Jun 9;140(1):201-209.
Hilgart DR, Iversen MM, Peters AY, Zabriskie MS, Hoareau GL, Vapniarsky N, Clark GA, Shah LM, Rieke V. Non-invasive central nervous system assessment of a porcine model of neuropathic pain demonstrates increased latency of somatosensory-evoked potentials. J Neurosci Methods. 2023 Aug 1;396:109934
Kundu B, Charlebois CM, Anderson DN, Peters A, Rolston JD. Chronic intracranial recordings after resection for epilepsy reveal a "running down" of epileptiform activity.Epilepsia. 2023 Jul;64(7):e135-e142.
Jones KG, Lybbert C, Euler MJ, Huang J, Lunt S, Richards SV, Jessop JE, Larson A, Odell DH, Kuck K, Tadler SC, Mickey BJ. Diversity of electroencephalographic patterns during propofol-induced burst suppression. Front Syst Neurosci. 2023 Jun 15;17:1172856.
Crane P, Jensen M, Liu S, Abbatemarco J, Wold J, Ledyard H, Swami U, Miranda M, Clardy S. Missed Opportunities to Prevent N-methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (NMDAR) Encephalitis in a DREAMer. Neurology. 2022 Dec 5;99 (23_Supplement_2):S66.
McKnight D, Morales A, Hatchell KE . . . Arain A . . . Pavliuk M. Genetic Testing to Inform Epilepsy Treatment Management from an International Study of Clinical Practice. JAMA neurology. 2022 Dec 1;79(12):1267-76.
Charlebois CM, Anderson DN, Johnson KA, Philip BJ, Davis TS, Newman BJ, Peters AY, Arain AM, Dorval AD, Rolston JD, Butson CR. Patient-specific structural connectivity informs outcomes of responsive neurostimulation for temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2022 Aug;63(8):2037-2055.
Miranda M, Arias F, Arain A, Newman B, Rolston J, Richards S, Peters A, Pick LH. Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav Rep. 2022 Jun 22;19:100558.
Anderson DN, Charlebois CM, Smith EH, Arain AM, Davis TS, Rolston JD. Probabilistic comparison of gray and white matter coverage between depth and surface intracranial electrodes in epilepsy. Scientific reports. 2021 Dec 17;11(1):24155.
Frankel MA, Lehmkuhle MJ, Spitz MC, Newman BJ, Richards SV, Arain AM. Wearable reduced-channel EEG system for remote seizure monitoring. Frontiers in Neurology. 2021 Oct 18;12:728484.
Richards S, Kandula P. Epilepsy Management. Emergency Medicine Reports. 2020 May 21;41(11).
Bornali Kundu, Tyler S Davis, Brian Philip, Elliot H Smith, Amir Arain, Angela Peters, Blake Newman, Christopher R Butson, John D Rolston (2020). A systematic exploration of parameters affecting evoked intracranial potentials in patients with epilepsy. Brain Stimul, 13(5), 1232-1244.
Naoir Zaher, Kevin Haas, Hasan Sonmezturk, Amir Arain, Bassel Abou-Khalil (2019). Rhythmic ictal nonclonic hand (RINCH) motions in general EMU patients with focal epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav, Feb. 2020, 103 pt. A.
Calvo N, Jamil M, Feldman S, Shah A, Nauman F, Ferrara J (2019). Neurotoxicity from intrathecal gadolinium administration: Case presentation and brief review. Neurol Clin Pract, 10(1), e7-e10.
Dabiri I, Calvo N, Nauman F, Pahlavanzadeh M, Burakgazi AZ (2019). Atypical presentation of Lyme neuroborreliosis related meningitis and radiculitis. Neurol Int, 11(4), 8318.
Serafini R (2019). Human neocortical interictal epileptiform discharges are initiated by a low-voltage negative polarity wave. (Epub ahead of print) Seizure.
Brock AA, Kundu B, Peters A, Rolston JD (2019). Bony encapsulation of a NeuroPace subdural electrode. Brain Stimul, 12(3), 819-820.
Serafini R (2019). Similarities and differences between the interictal epileptiform discharges of green-spikes and red-spikes zones of human neocortex. Clin Neurophysiol, 130(3), 396-405.
Arain AM, Umar A, Rawal P, Azar NJ, Obideen M, Singh P, Al-Kaylani M, Abou-Khalil B (2018). Localization value of ictal turning prone. Seizure, 69, 57-60.
Serafini R (2017). A comparison of anticonvulsant efficacy and action mechanism of Mannitol vs Phenytoin in adult rat neocortical slices. IBRO Rep, 3, 55-64.
John F Burke, MD, PhD Angela Peters, MD John D Rolston, MD, PhD (Fall 2017). Intracranial Electroencephalography for Alzheimer's. Neurosurgery, 81(3), N23-24.
Wynn D, McCorquodale D 3rd, Peters A, Juster-Switlyk K, Smith G, Ansari S (2016). Rapidly Progressive Quadriplegia and Encephalopathy. JAMA Neurol, 73(11), 1363-1366.
Serafini R, Dettloff S, Loeb JA (2016). Neocortical slices from adult chronic epileptic rats exhibit discharges of higher voltages and broader spread. Neuroscience, 322, 509-24.
Riaz A, Matsuo F (2015). Lamotrigine. In Shorvon S, Perucca E, Engel J (Eds.), The Treatment of Epilepsy (4th Ed., pp. 498-515). Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Afra P, Anderson J, Funke M, Johnson M, Matsuo F, Constantino T, Warner J (2012). Neurophysiological investigation of idiopathic acquired auditory-visual synesthesia. Neurocase, 18(4), 323-9.
Matsuo F (www.aesnet.org). Head-surface geometry of focal interictal epileptiform transients (FIET) [Abstract]. Abstract 2.056, 2010 2010 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting, www.aesnet.org.
Matsuo F, Riaz A (2009). Lamotrigine. In Shorvon S, Perucca E, Engel J (Eds.), The Treatment of Epilepsy (3rd, pp. 536-58). Blackwell Publishing.
Benbadis SR, LaFrance WC, Papandonatos GD, Korabathina K, Lin K, Kramer HC, NES Treatment Workshop, Matsuo F EEG-Video Reviewer (2009). Interrater reliability of EEG_Video monitoring. Neurology, 73, 843-6.
Matsuo F (2008). A case of familial epilepsy with nocturnal recurrences. In Schmidt D, Schacter SC (Eds.), Puzzling Cases of Epilepsy (2nd, pp. 267-9). Elsevier.
Birch DG, Peters AY, Locke KL, Spencer R, Megarity CF, Travis GH (2001). Visual function in patients with cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) associated with mutations in the ABCA4(ABCR) gene. Exp Eye Res, 73(6), 877-86.