If you have a pacemaker and become terminally ill with a condition unrelated to your heart, such as cancer, it's possible that your pacemaker could prolong the process of dying. Doctors and researchers have varied opinions on turning off a pacemaker in end-of-life situations.
Epilepsy Fellowship About the Program The academic role of Epilepsy clinics is to familiarize fellows with epilepsy disorders or mimetic conditions in pediatric and adult population. Fellows will learn the etiology, pathophysiologic process, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, diagnostic work up and therapeutic management of epilepsy disorders as well as the social aspects of the disease.
What Is a Spinal Tap? One test for epilepsy is a spinal tap (also called a lumbar puncture). This is a procedure in which fluid surrounding the spinal cord (called the cerebrospinal fluid or CSF) is withdrawn through a needle and examined in a lab. Why Is a Spinal Tap Performed? A spinal tap may be performed to rule out infections such as meningitis or encephalitis as the cause of epileptic seizures. Besides being used for epilepsy, testing the CSF can help in the diagnosis of disorders of the chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, central nervous system that may involve the brain, spinal cord, or their coverings (the meninges).