National Centre for Epilepsy (SSE)
In Norway, highly specialist treatment of epilepsy is centralised at Spesialsykehuset for epilepsi (SSE), which admits patients from all over the country for assessment and treatment. Please continue for further information in English.
National service for complex epilepsy
SSE has a national service for patients with complex epilepsy who do not obtain sufficient benefit from the usual drug treatments and/or where the epilepsy causes psychosocial or cognitive difficulties or other challenges.
Who can be admitted to SSE?
Most people referred to SSE have not achieved satisfactory seizure control from medication. Most have been examined at their local neurology department or paediatric ward and have been referred to SSE from there. At SSE, patients receive further assessment and treatment. People with an unresolved seizure situation can be referred to SSE for diagnostic clarification. Some patients who are examined do not have epilepsy. The goal of hospitalization at SSE is to ensure that the diagnosis is correct, and that treatment for the patients' type of epilepsy and seizures is optimised.
You can find an overview (in Norwegian) of the treatments offered on our homepage:
oslo-universitetssykehus.no/sse
Click on the treatment about which you would like more information and select the appropriate treatment location; for example, Seksjon for barn og ungdom med epilepsi (Section for children and adolescents with epilepsy). Here you can read about what happens before, during, and after the treatment. You will also find practical information regarding admission to the particular treatment section that you have selected.
Another approach is to use Google to search, for example, for: diagnosis clarification children OUS, investigation epilepsy operation OUS, classic ketogenic diet OUS, PNES children OUS etc.
SSE has Norway’s largest Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, with 10 beds for EEG assessment. The Section for Clinical Neurophysiology (KNF) is an important part of surgical investigations, in collaboration with the Department of Neurosurgery at OUS. Photo: Oslo University Hospital (OUS).
Our goal is to reduce the frequency of seizures, or to achieve seizure freedom, with the fewest possible side effects from seizure-prevention drugs. The seizure situation is mapped in order to best assess the effects of epilepsy medication.
Interdisciplinary investigation
If necessary, and after assessment, our interdisciplinary team conducts a broad assessment. This maybe crucial for successful treatment for some patients. In addition, the consequences of epilepsy related to work, school, and social functioning are investigated.
Children below school age are observed at the Special Education Observation Unit. Photo: Shutterstock.
Children below school age are observed at the Special Education Observation Unit. Children of school age, and who are hospitalized for more than four days, receive teaching at Solberg School, where the children are observed and mapped. The teachers are members of the interdisciplinary team and participate in the investigation.
Between 20-30% of patients do not achieve freedom from seizures by treatment with medication. Some may be helped by epilepsy surgery. SSE has a national treatment service for investigation of patients who are under assessment for epilepsy surgery. Investigation, assessment, and surgery are conducted in close collaboration between SSE and the Department of Neurosurgery. Patients are followed up at SSE for ten years after surgery.
People who may be suitable for epilepsy surgery undergo a comprehensive assessment and a thorough risk-benefit analysis. Photo: Oslo University Hospital.