AAN 2026 | Epilepsy treatment shifts toward precision biology-based approaches
Peter Warnke, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, discusses the evolving field of epilepsy treatment, which is shifting from electrophysiology-based approaches to more biology-oriented treatments. Dr Warnke highlights that advances in techniques such as stereo EEG, MRI, and MEG are enabling higher-resolution identification of the seizure focus, allowing for minimally invasive modulation. This interview took place at the 78th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
This is almost a philosophical question. So this, the field is moving, and it’s moving in the direction, of course, of more biology, disease biology-oriented treatment. So instead of identifying with electrophysiological means the focus in epilepsy, and then resecting tissue, which hopefully contains the focus, which is the standard treatment. We’re now actually defining the focus much, much better with higher resolution, stereo EEGs, MRI techniques, MEG, et cetera...
This is almost a philosophical question. So this, the field is moving, and it’s moving in the direction, of course, of more biology, disease biology-oriented treatment. So instead of identifying with electrophysiological means the focus in epilepsy, and then resecting tissue, which hopefully contains the focus, which is the standard treatment. We’re now actually defining the focus much, much better with higher resolution, stereo EEGs, MRI techniques, MEG, et cetera. And then try to minimally invasive modulate that focus, be it laser ablation, neuromodulation, or the latest, as we discussed before, with cell treatment. So actually, instead of destroying tissue, it’s modifying disease biology. I think this is where the field is moving.
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