When you come to Mayo Clinic with questions about your health, you'll find a team of experts who take the time to listen and consider every aspect of your care.
Our neurologists trained in epilepsy and seizures have expertise and experience in evaluating and treating adults and children with epilepsy and seizures. Each year, Mayo Clinic teams evaluate and treat more than 10,400 adults and children with epilepsy.
Our neurologists and pediatric neurologists work closely with doctors and staff trained in brain, spine and nervous system surgery (neurosurgeons), radiology and nervous system conditions (neuroradiologists), mental health conditions and nervous system conditions (neuropsychologists), and other areas.
Your care team evaluates the root cause of your seizures and talks with you about treatment options personalized for you. For children with epilepsy, the care team offers holistic care for the child and family, talking about the learning and behavioral changes that can occur with this condition and taking a team approach to quality-of-life issues.
Our physicians also are researchers and educators, so they are on the forefront of new diagnostic and treatment options. They have available a full range of services to reduce seizure frequency and severity in adults and children, including new epilepsy medicines. Some people might benefit from new technology and clinical trials that offer options even for rare syndromes.
Advanced diagnostic tests include:
- Electroencephalogramhy, also called EEG, including inpatient video EEG epilepsy monitoring.
- MRI, including 7-tesla MRI to help pinpoint the source of seizures.
- Neuropsychological evaluations.
- Positron emission tomography scan, also called PET scan.
- Subtraction ictal SPECT coregistered to MRI, also called SISCOM.
Treatments include:
- Deep brain stimulation.
- Hormone therapy.
- Ketogenic diet.
- Laser interstitial thermal therapy.
- Research trials with medicines and devices.
- Responsive neurostimulation.
- Standard and investigational medicines, including oral anti-seizure drugs and intranasal seizure-rescue preparations.
- Surgery, including awake brain surgery.
- Vagus nerve stimulation.
Seizures remain inadequately controlled in about a third of people with epilepsy. As a Level 4 comprehensive epilepsy center, Mayo Clinic is positioned to identify the best treatment for people whose epilepsy doesn't respond to medicines. These treatment options may include clinical trials, neurostimulation devices, laser interstitial thermal therapy and, in some instances, surgery.
Mayo Clinic provides care to people with epilepsy and other health concerns, such as autoimmune conditions. Each person receives a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to specific needs, such as learning disabilities, behavioral issues, depression, and lifestyle and independence preferences.
Research advances that improve clinical care
Our physician-scientists and researchers study the causes of epilepsy and new approaches to diagnosing and treating it, including medicines, deep brain stimulation, intraoperative functional brain mapping and minimally invasive laser surgery. They developed an imaging technology that pinpoints seizure locations. Called subtraction ictal SPECT coregistered to MRI, also called SISCOM, this tool has been widely adopted and makes it possible for surgeons to remove the parts of the brain causing seizures while protecting healthy areas.
Our investigators also are internationally recognized for developing devices designed to integrate brain sensing, electrical stimulation and distributed computing for seizure forecasting and adaptive therapy to prevent seizures and epilepsy-related medical conditions.
You may be eligible to participate in clinical trials testing investigational diagnostics and treatments for epilepsy, including investigational medicines, epilepsy genetics or deep brain stimulation. Read more about epilepsy research.
Nationally recognized expertise
The National Association of Epilepsy Centers rates Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida; Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; and Rochester, Minnesota, as Level 4 epilepsy centers, which provide the highest level of diagnosis and treatment options for people with epilepsy.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, rank among the Best Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings. Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.
Mayo Clinic is top-ranked in more specialties than any other hospital and has been recognized as an Honor Roll member according to the U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 "Best Hospitals" rankings.