The multidisciplinary team at the UF Comprehensive Epilepsy Program is committed to providing advanced care to people with:

• Epilepsy
• Seizures
• Sleep disorders

Shands at UF is home to state-of-the-art medical, surgical and imaging facilities. An epilepsy monitoring unit is available for both adults and children that require long-term monitoring of their seizures.

About Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a disorder that causes repeated seizures, which are episodes of disturbed brain function that cause changes in attention and behavior. They are caused by abnormal electrical excitation in the brain.

Symptoms of seizures vary widely, depending on what parts of the brain are affected. Some symptoms include:

• loss of consciousness with twitching or shaking of the body
• staring spells
• temporary abnormal sensations
• visual disturbances
• Sweating
• Skin flushing
• Dilated pupils

Sometimes seizures are related to a temporary condition, such as exposure to drugs, withdrawal from certain drugs or abnormal levels of sodium or glucose in the blood. By treating the underlying problem, the seizures stop.

In other cases, an injury to the brain, as in a stroke or other traumatic brain injury, leads to “excitable” brain tissue. And in other cases, an inherited abnormality affects nerve cells in the brain and this leads to seizures. For some people with seizures, no underlying cause can be identified.

Treatment

Treatments for epilepsy available at Shands at UF and include:

• seizure-controlling or seizure-preventing medications
• a Ketogenic diet, which is very high in fats and low in carbohydrates
• VNS therapy, where an implanted device stimulates the vagus nerve
• surgery to remove the seizure-causing parts of the brain

Clinical trials are also available from the University of Florida. Click here for more information.

Information

For more information or to schedule a new patient appointment, please call the Shands HealthCare Consultation Center at (800) 749-7424 or (352) 265-8000.

Neurological Services

General Neurology

Memory Disorders

Movement Disorders

Neuromuscular Disorders

Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders

Multiple Sclerosis

Stroke Services

Clinical Trials

Multimedia Resources and Links

Make an Appointment

To make a new patient appointment or find out more information about neurology services offered at Shands at the University of Florida, please call 352.265.0943 .

You may also email our Consultation Center (consult@shands.ufl.edu) or use our secure online form.