Patient, Christine Kauzen being examined by LHSC Neurosurgeon, Dr. David Steven
It has been an unexpected health journey for 26-year-old Christine Kauzen who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2020 after a series of what had been believed to be panic attacks that became increasingly severe.
“I had a convulsion seizure in October 2020 and was taken to hospital by ambulance. It was determined I had epilepsy; a specific kind that affects both my temporal lobes, meaning it was more difficult to diagnose because of how they presented,” says Kauzen.
Temporal lobe seizures are often treated with either medication, or by removing the lobe that is causing the seizures. Unfortunately for Kauzen, she did not respond to medication and because both her temporal lobes were causing the seizures, removal was also not an option.
“My seizures were happening every other week for a period of three days at a time, and sometimes it was even more frequent. This would reset my memory every single time and I would lose memory of the days I had seizures and those leading up to them,” explains Kauzen. “I had to stop working, going to school, and driving, which are all things I love.”
Since treatment options for Kauzen were limited, Dr. David Steven, Neurosurgeon at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), recommended a Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS) device be surgically implanted into Kauzen’s skull to treat her seizures.
“This device detects when the seizures are going to happen by measuring the electrical activity within the temporal lobes, then the device delivers an impulse to confuse the section of the brain and reset the neurons to prevent the seizure, kind of like a pacemaker,” says Dr. Steven. “The RNS device also records the seizures and pinpoints exactly where they come from, allowing neurologists to use that data to track any changes or improvements in seizure activity.”
While RNS is used as a therapeutic option to treat drug-resistant epilepsy, it is only approved in the United States.
However, Kauzen became one of the first patients outside the United States to receive this device after Dr. Steven and his team advocated for this treatment and applied through Health Canada's Special Access Program.
“Epilepsy is one of those conditions where the person looks normal until they have a seizure and seizures are often unpredictable, so there is a constant threat and fear for these patients,” says Dr. Steven. “This is why we do the work we do and advocate for patients, to bring hope to what may feel like a hopeless situation.”
Kauzen underwent the RNS procedure in July of 2024 and other than one seizure immediately after the surgery, it has been a huge success, with zero full seizures recorded to date. She says she has also regained her memory.
“I am now planning my future. I am going to concerts again and doing fun things because now I am not scared to live.”