Curing Epilepsy: Improved Procedures, Improved Outcomes

Presented by David Adelson, MD, and Deborah L. Holder, MD

The presenters, P. David Adelson, MD, and Deborah L. Holder, MD, are surgical director and medical director, respectively, of Children's Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program, one of the most advanced, successful and busiest programs in the nation.  Drs. Adelson and Holder will discuss the current state, as well as future developments, in surgical treatment options for epilepsy patients who are unlikely to respond to further conventional medication therapy.

Biography Summary

David Adelson, MD, FACS, FAAP, is recognized nationally and internationally as one of the foremost experts in pediatric neuro-injury in children. At Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, he is director of the Pediatric Neurotrauma Center, associate medical director of the Benedum Pediatric Trauma Center, director of the Brachial Plexis and Peripheral Nerve Injury Center and associate director for the General Clinical Research Center. Dr. Adelson also is a full professor of neurosurgery and vice-chairman of research at the University of Pittsburgh and director of surgical epilepsy at the university’s Epilepsy Center.

Dr. Adelson maintains an active clinical and laboratory research program that focuses on the comprehensive aspects of traumatic brain and neural injury and recovery in children and the developing nerve system. His research interests include epilepsy and neural injury, specifically brain, spine, brachial plexus and peripheral nerve injury. Dr. Adelson has focused his efforts on preserving damaged brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerve tissue and repairing the tissue to improve recovery in children. Currently, he is the principal investigator for a multi-center clinical trial in hypothermia led by Children’s Hospital. The trial investigates how cooling works on children to determine if this technique could help improve the outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

With Dr. Adelson’s help, Children’s Hospital has become a leader in clinical and basic science research in the area of childhood head injury, treatment and recovery, and has written the major components to specialty care for children after trauma.

Today, most children’s trauma centers utilize protocols developed by Dr. Adelson and his colleagues and has highlighted the lack of research in the area. Dr. Adelson and Children’s are trying to change this by elevating the understanding of what makes children unique after a head injury, in their response to treatment and in their recovery

Biography Summary

Deborah Holder, MD, whose special interest is in children with epilepsy, received her medical degree at the Medical College of Ohio, Toledo. She completed her residency at Texas Children's Hospital of Baylor College of Medicine, and her fellowship in pediatric EEG and epilepsy at Children's Hospital Boston. She comes to Pittsburgh from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine.