Epilepsy Program
Overview
Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute's Epilepsy Program provides an
individualized, comprehensive approach to the diagnosis, treatment, management,
and research of epilepsy and seizure disorders. As a NAEC Level III Epilepsy
Center, the multi-disciplinary team is dedicated to providing the safest,
most effective and least invasive treatments to help patients achieve
the highest functionality. The Epilepsy Program also includes an Epilepsy
Monitoring Unit. Our three-bed unit offers a comfortable environment with
state-of-the-art video monitoring. A control room is just steps away for
quick access to patients, and is staffed 24 hours a day with EEG monitoring
technicians.
Patients in our Epilepsy Monitoring Unit are surveyed using the Quality
of Life in Epilepsy (QOLIE -10-P) assessment tool. The average patient
in FY17 experienced a 548.02% improvement in Quality of Life. Patients
with surgical resection for Epilepsy have had at least 330 days of seizure freedom.

Team
The program is led by Dr. David Millett, a nationally recognized sub-specialized
Epileptologist, and includes neurosurgeons Charles Liu, M.D., Ph.D and
Jonathan Russin, M.D. Sheena Dhiman, BSN, MBA., nurse navigator for the
Epilepsy Program, works closely with physicians, nurses, and EEG staff
to help facilitate patient care, including appropriate referrals and resources,
education of patients and staff, and coordinating programs to provide
a large array of services to promote psychological and physiological wellness.
The most recent addition to the teams is a dedicated nurse practitioner
Suzanne Pach, R.N., who assists in the out-patient and in-patient evaluation
and management of our patients.

Support & Education
As part of a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to epilepsy, neurosurgeons,
epileptologists, neuroradiologists, epilepsy care coordinators, EEG technologists
and other health care professionals meet on a regular basis to review
patient-specific cases being considered for surgical interventions. Patients
benefit from this combined expertise and experience of the collective
physicians and professionals.
The Epilepsy Center at Hoag offers an interactive support group for all
adolescent and adult epilepsy patients. This support group functions under
the direction of a licensed clinical social worker, and includes group
and family discussions to help you better understand and cope with epilepsy.
This support group meets on the first Wednesday of every month from 6:30
to 8 p.m. in the Hoag Neurosciences Institute, 3rd floor conference room.
Clinical Research
UCB Pharma Protocol No1199: An open-label, multicenter, follow-up trial
to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of Brivaracetam used as
adjunctive treatment at a flexible dose up to 150 mg/day in subjects aged
16 years or older suffering from epilepsy. October 2013
Publications, Lectures, Book Chapters
BIBLIOGRAPHY (*indicates senior/corresponding author):
PEER REVIEWED
1. The Weekend Effect on Morbidity and Mortality Among Pediatric Epilepsy
Admissions. Wen T, Kramer DR, Sirot S, Ho L, Moalem AS, Cen SY, Millett
D, Heck C, Robison RA, Mack WJ, Liu CY. Pediatr Neurol. 2017 Sep;74:24-31
2. Characterization of electrocorticogram high-gamma signal in response
to varying upper extremity movement velocity. Wang PT, McCrimmon CM, King
CE, Shaw SJ, Millett DE, Gong H, Chui LA, Liu CY, Nenadic Z, Do AH. Brain
Struct Funct. 2017 May 18
3. Potentially preventable complications in epilepsy admissions: The "weekend
effect". Ho L, Kramer DR, Wen T, Moalem AS, Millett D, Heck CN, Mack
WJ, Liu CY. Epilepsy Behav. 2017 May;70(Pt A):50-
4. Unstable periodic orbits in human epileptic hippocampal slices. Pen-Ning
Yu, Min-Chi Hsiao, Dong Song, Liu CY, Heck CN, Millett D, Berger TW. Conf
Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2014;2014:5800-3.
5. A testbed to explore the optimal electrical stimulation parameters for
suppressing inter-ictal spikes in human hippocampal slices. Min-Chi Hsiao,
Pen-Ning Yu, Dong Song, Liu CY, Heck CN, Millett D, Berger TW. Conf Proc
IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2014;2014:5792-5
6. An in vitro seizure model from human hippocampal slices using multi-electrode
arrays. Hsiao MC, Yu PN, Song D, Liu CY, Heck CN, Millett D, Berger TW.
J Neurosci Methods. 2015 Apr 15;244:154-63.
7. Sensitivity and specificity of upper extremity movements decoded from
electrocorticogram. Do AH, Wang PT, King CE, Schombs A, Lin JJ, Sazgar
M, Hsu FP, Shaw SJ, Millett DE, Liu CY, Szymanska AA, Chui LA, Nenadic
Z. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2013;2013:5618-21
ABSTRACTS
1. Po T. Wang*, Christine E. King, Colin McCrimmon, Susan J. Shaw, David
Millett, Charles Y. Liu, Luis A. Chui, Zoran Nenadic, An H. Do. “Electrocorticogram
Encoding of Upper Extremity Movement Duration.” 36th Annual International
IEEE EMBS Conference, Chicago, IL, August 26-30, 2014.
2. Pen-Ning Yu*, Min-Chi Hsiao, Dong Song, Charles Y. Liu, Christi N.
Heck, David Millett, Theodore Berger. “Unstable Periodic Orbits
in Human Epileptic Hippocampal Slices.” 36th Annual International
IEEE EMBS Conference, Chicago, IL, August 26-30, 2014.
3. Min-Chi Hsiao, Pen-Ning Yu, Dong Song, Charles Y. Liu, Christi N. Heck,
David Millett, Theodore Berger. “A Testbed to Explore the Optimal
Electrical Stimulation Parameters for Suppressing Inter-Ictal Spikes in
Human Hippocampal Slices.” 36th Annual International IEEE EMBS Conference,
Chicago, IL, August 26-30, 2014.
CHAPTERS
1. Millett D, Coutin-Churchman P, Stern J. “Basic Principles of Electroencephalography.”
In Toga A. Brain mapping: An Encyclopedic Reference. Elsevier Press, 2015:
pp. 75-80.
2. Millett D and Stern J. “Fundamentals of EEG.” In Stern
J and Sirven J (Eds), Atlas of Video-EEG Monitoring, McGraw-Hill, 2011.
To learn more, visit the
Epilepsy Program section or call 949-764-6066.