Epilepsy is one of the most common brain disorders, affecting about 3 million people in the United States. The University Health South Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (STCEC) is Central and South Texas’ only comprehensive epilepsy treatment center for adults and children with epilepsy.
Epilepsy causes seizures, an event in the brain characterized by a disruption in your brain’s electrical signals. When there is a burst of unusual electrical signals in your brain, you may have a seizure. A seizure can happen very suddenly and without warning.
San Antonio's Only Level IV Epilepsy Center
A partnership between University Health and UT Health San Antonio, STCEC is San Antonio’s only Level IV epilepsy center, the highest accreditation from the National Association of Epilepsy Centers.
The STCEC treats over 4,000 patients each year for epilepsy and seizure disorders. We offer the most advanced diagnostic and treatment options available, including innovative options for people whose seizures aren’t controlled by medications.
Learn more about our epilepsy team.
Types of Epilepsy We Treat
Seizures are divided into different categories. Generalized seizures involve the entire brain, and partial seizures occur in just one area of the brain.
Types of epilepsy are categorized by what causes the seizures, and each category includes many different types of epilepsy and many different types of seizures.
Diagnostic Evaluations and Treatment
As San Antonio’s only Level IV epilepsy center, and the largest program in Texas, University Health’s STCEC gives you access to the highest level of expertise and sophisticated diagnostic technology available in the area.
Our 10-bed Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) is the largest inpatient monitoring unit for adults in San Antonio. Nurses and diagnostic specialists with expertise in epilepsy and seizure disorders use advanced diagnostic tools to continuously monitor brain activity during seizures.
This specialized testing helps pinpoint the type of seizure and where it’s occurring in the brain, equipping doctors with the information they need to accurately diagnose and control your seizures.
Advanced Surgical Procedures
Advanced surgical procedures for adults and children range from vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) implantation to brain surgery.Epilepsy Clinical Trials
We conduct clinical trials for new seizure medications.Epilepsy Support
Support is available at outreach clinics through the Epilepsy Foundation of South and Central Texas in San Antonio, Eagle Pass, Laredo, Corpus Christi, Harlingen and Del Rio.Comprehensive Epilepsy Tests Offered
Brain SPECT
The Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) scan provides information about blood flow to the brain. Blood flow to an area of the brain increases during a seizure and can decrease before or after a seizure. This scan produces images using a radioactive tracer and a special camera.
Electrocorticography (ECOG)
An ECoG uses sensors that are surgically implanted on the brain to record brain activity. ECoG is considered the “gold standard” for detecting an epilepsy episode.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
An EEG measures and records the brain’s electrical activity. Special sensors (electrodes) are attached to the head and hooked by wires to a computer that records the brain’s electrical activity. An EEG technician conducts the test, which can be done in a hospital or in a doctor’s office, and a neurologist reads the results. Approximately 3,500 studies are performed each year.
Functional MRI (fMRI)
fMRI is a type of MRI that produces images of the brain in action. The scan captures images of the brain while you perform specific tasks that involve thinking, speaking and moving, allowing your doctor to see which part of the brain is at work.
High-Density EEG
The high-density EEG uses more electrodes on the scalp than the regular EEG. A high-density EEG uses up to 256 electrodes compared to 26-28 electrodes in the regular EEG.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
An MRI is a scan that can detect growths such as a tumor or scarring that can cause a seizure.
Motor and Language Mapping
Motor and language mapping shows which parts of the brain perform these functions so doctors can perform surgery with the highest degree of accuracy.
Neuropsychological Testing
This assessment measures your memory and ability to learn and comprehend. The testing can help identify areas of the brain that aren’t functioning normally. Neuropsychological testing is used before and after surgery to evaluate potential risks of the surgery based on where the seizures occur in the brain.
Positron Emission Tomography
A PET scan shows blood flow and how the brain uses sugar (glucose), measuring changes in the brain’s metabolism and chemistry.
Video EEG
This testing is 24-hour EEG monitoring of the brain during seizures and videotaping of the symptoms of the seizures. The testing is performed in our inpatient Epilepsy Monitoring Unit over several days. The results help doctors determine whether all of the seizures originate in one part of the brain, and pinpoint where the seizures begin. The test also records brain activity between seizures.
WADA Test
The WADA test looks at language and memory on one side of the brain at a time. A doctor injects medication through a catheter to put one side of the brain to sleep. Your doctor will ask you to identify pictures and objects while one side of your brain is asleep and after the drug has worn off. The process is repeated on the other side of your brain.
The WADA pinpoints where speech, thinking and memory functions are in the brain. The test helps determine if surgery is an option to control seizures and if so, plan the surgery to avoid further problems with speech and memory.