UC Davis Health is dedicated to providing patients like you the opportunity to lead a life seizure-free. If you've tried two or more epilepsy medications and still experience seizures, it's important for you to be evaluated at a specialized epilepsy center. Additional effective treatments for epilepsy exist, and you deserve the opportunity to learn about and try treatments that are a fit for you.

Our accreditation as a level 4 comprehensive epilepsy center means that patients in the Sacramento Valley and beyond can take advantage of the convenience and ease of travel to Sacramento for expert evaluation and epilepsy treatment.

Let your neurologist know you meet the criteria and request a referral for assessment by our multidisciplinary team at the UC Davis Comprehensive Epilepsy Program.

What is a seizure, and what is epilepsy?

Known in the past as "grand mal" or "petite mal" seizures, and sometimes called "staring spells" or "drop attacks," a seizure (as described by the Epilepsy Foundation) is a sudden, temporary burst of electrical activity in the brain that changes or disrupts the way messages are sent between brain cells. These electrical bursts can cause involuntary changes in body movement or function, sensation, behavior or awareness. Every brain has the potential to seize. A person with epilepsy has a lower seizure threshold -- this means they are more likely to have seizures than people without epilepsy. 

Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain and nervous system known for its spontaneous, recurrent seizures. It is a debilitating condition that impairs your quality of life such as the ability to attend school, work or drive. If you have experienced more than one seizure, you may have epilepsy. About 20,000 people in Northern California experience seizures that are not controlled by medication. 

Learn more about how to recognize seizures and respond to them.

National experts provide a comprehensive lifespan approach

The multidisciplinary team of specialists in the UC Davis Comprehensive Epilepsy Program are experienced in treating the most complex forms of epilepsy. We offer the region’s most sophisticated complement of intensive neurodiagnostic monitoring and treatment equipment and the largest staff of epileptologists — specialists in treatment of epilepsy — and ours is Northern California’s only epilepsy program with a comprehensive lifespan approach. That’s important because the effects of epilepsy can change as a person ages. For example, at UC Davis, when the time is right for each patient, we carefully coordinate transition of care among our pediatric and adult specialists as they work together on the same multidisciplinary team. This arrangement ensures maximum treatment safety and patient quality of life across the lifespan. 

As one of few programs nationwide to offer this continuity and convenience to patients, our integrated team-based approach also accelerates diagnosis and treatment planning for Northern California patients with unmet neurological needs.

UC Davis designated as a Level 4 Comprehensive Epilepsy Center for both Children and Adults

The National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) has accredited the UC Davis Comprehensive Epilepsy Program for adults and pediatrics as a level 4 epilepsy center, the highest designation available. UC Davis Health is home to the first and only pediatric epilepsy program in inland Northern California to achieve this level accreditation. Only facilities equipped with the most advanced technology and that perform extensive medical, surgical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatments for epilepsy and other seizure disorders earn NAEC level 4 designation.

Diagnostic tools and treatments offered at UC Davis

For diagnosis, the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program utilizes continuous EEG and intracranial monitoring or stereo-EEG (SEEG) among its many tools. Learn more about diagnosis and our Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Patients then may be recommended treatments including medication, responsive neurostimulation (RNS), laser surgery for epilepsy (LITT), a deep brain stimulation (DBS) implant, as well as lifestyle modifications such as the ketogenic diet for epilepsy, or any combination of these and other treatment options.