Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy
<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES) is a new index that we introduce in this study to grade the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. We assessed 76 patients at 6, 12, and 18 months after VNS evalua...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Medicina |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61/1/75 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832587973583962112 |
|---|---|
| author | Flavius-Iuliu Urian Corneliu Toader Razvan-Adrian Covache Busuioc Antonio-Daniel Corlatescu Horia Petre Costin Gabriel Iacob Alexadru Vlad Ciurea |
| author_facet | Flavius-Iuliu Urian Corneliu Toader Razvan-Adrian Covache Busuioc Antonio-Daniel Corlatescu Horia Petre Costin Gabriel Iacob Alexadru Vlad Ciurea |
| author_sort | Flavius-Iuliu Urian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives</i>: The Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES) is a new index that we introduce in this study to grade the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. We assessed 76 patients at 6, 12, and 18 months after VNS evaluating improvement with the IRES in four key dimensions: seizure duration decrease, seizure intensity decrease, improvement in quality of life, and seizure frequency decrease. This scale goes from 0, meaning no improvement, to 8, meaning maximal improvement, making the scale a really good measure of clinical utility. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: This retrospective study followed 76 patients aged 20–65, assessing changes in their IRES scores after VNS therapy using the ASPIRE SR 106 device. Therapy settings were adjusted biweekly to optimize efficacy and patient tolerance. <i>Results</i>: There were improvements in the control of the seizures, measured in terms of increased IRES scores. Improvements were associated with quality-of-life enhancements for the patient and a lesser frequency and intensity of the seizures, testifying further to the predictive ability of the IRES toward successful outcomes. This fact reveals that epilepsy treatment must be individual, according to the profile of the patient. <i>Conclusions</i>: The study confirms the IRES to be a valid tool for the assessment of the impact of VNS on drug-resistant epilepsy and promotes it as an integral part of the evaluation of the patient for personalized therapy. The findings encourage the use of IRES among the elements that support patient selection and insist on its role in the advancement of precision medicine and optimization of treatment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-182211ef057a417db73f87b576e71e20 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj-art-182211ef057a417db73f87b576e71e202025-01-24T13:40:29ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442025-01-016117510.3390/medicina61010075Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant EpilepsyFlavius-Iuliu Urian0Corneliu Toader1Razvan-Adrian Covache Busuioc2Antonio-Daniel Corlatescu3Horia Petre Costin4Gabriel Iacob5Alexadru Vlad Ciurea6Department of Neurosurgery, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, 030147 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, 030147 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, 030147 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, 030147 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, 030147 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, 030147 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, 030147 Bucharest, Romania<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES) is a new index that we introduce in this study to grade the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. We assessed 76 patients at 6, 12, and 18 months after VNS evaluating improvement with the IRES in four key dimensions: seizure duration decrease, seizure intensity decrease, improvement in quality of life, and seizure frequency decrease. This scale goes from 0, meaning no improvement, to 8, meaning maximal improvement, making the scale a really good measure of clinical utility. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: This retrospective study followed 76 patients aged 20–65, assessing changes in their IRES scores after VNS therapy using the ASPIRE SR 106 device. Therapy settings were adjusted biweekly to optimize efficacy and patient tolerance. <i>Results</i>: There were improvements in the control of the seizures, measured in terms of increased IRES scores. Improvements were associated with quality-of-life enhancements for the patient and a lesser frequency and intensity of the seizures, testifying further to the predictive ability of the IRES toward successful outcomes. This fact reveals that epilepsy treatment must be individual, according to the profile of the patient. <i>Conclusions</i>: The study confirms the IRES to be a valid tool for the assessment of the impact of VNS on drug-resistant epilepsy and promotes it as an integral part of the evaluation of the patient for personalized therapy. The findings encourage the use of IRES among the elements that support patient selection and insist on its role in the advancement of precision medicine and optimization of treatment.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61/1/75vagal nerve stimulationepilepsyoutcomeIRES scorequality of lifeseizure reduction |
| spellingShingle | Flavius-Iuliu Urian Corneliu Toader Razvan-Adrian Covache Busuioc Antonio-Daniel Corlatescu Horia Petre Costin Gabriel Iacob Alexadru Vlad Ciurea Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy Medicina vagal nerve stimulation epilepsy outcome IRES score quality of life seizure reduction |
| title | Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy |
| title_full | Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy |
| title_fullStr | Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy |
| title_short | Introducing the Index of Response to Stimulation (IRES): A Novel Metric for Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation Outcomes in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy |
| title_sort | introducing the index of response to stimulation ires a novel metric for assessing vagus nerve stimulation outcomes in drug resistant epilepsy |
| topic | vagal nerve stimulation epilepsy outcome IRES score quality of life seizure reduction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61/1/75 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT flaviusiuliuurian introducingtheindexofresponsetostimulationiresanovelmetricforassessingvagusnervestimulationoutcomesindrugresistantepilepsy AT corneliutoader introducingtheindexofresponsetostimulationiresanovelmetricforassessingvagusnervestimulationoutcomesindrugresistantepilepsy AT razvanadriancovachebusuioc introducingtheindexofresponsetostimulationiresanovelmetricforassessingvagusnervestimulationoutcomesindrugresistantepilepsy AT antoniodanielcorlatescu introducingtheindexofresponsetostimulationiresanovelmetricforassessingvagusnervestimulationoutcomesindrugresistantepilepsy AT horiapetrecostin introducingtheindexofresponsetostimulationiresanovelmetricforassessingvagusnervestimulationoutcomesindrugresistantepilepsy AT gabrieliacob introducingtheindexofresponsetostimulationiresanovelmetricforassessingvagusnervestimulationoutcomesindrugresistantepilepsy AT alexadruvladciurea introducingtheindexofresponsetostimulationiresanovelmetricforassessingvagusnervestimulationoutcomesindrugresistantepilepsy |