Using EEG to guide seizure medicines after stroke or head injury
Official title: Comparative Effectiveness of EEG-Guided Anti-Seizure Treatment in Acute Brain Injury
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11235864 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether using bedside EEG brain monitoring to guide anti-seizure medicines for people with recent stroke or traumatic brain injury can prevent harmful brain activity while cutting down medicine side effects.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $657,058 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS131347-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11235864 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people hospitalized with an acute brain injury (for example stroke or traumatic brain injury) who receive EEG monitoring and have signs of seizures or epileptiform activity.
✕Less likely to help
People without recent acute brain injury, those not monitored with EEG, or patients with stable chronic epilepsy unrelated to an acute injury are unlikely to be helped by this project.
What this research studies
If you or a loved one are in the hospital with a recent stroke or head injury, this work uses EEG (continuous brain monitoring) to spot seizures or seizure-like activity and guide treatment decisions. The team links a large, multi-center EEG registry with patient records so they can compare outcomes when EEG findings change medication choices versus usual care. The project uses automated EEG processing tools to reduce the labor of reading EEGs and includes patients from several hospitals to get a broad picture. The goal is to find ways to prevent seizure-related harm while avoiding unnecessary or overly strong anti-seizure drugs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower the risk of seizure-related complications and reduce harmful side effects from unnecessary anti-seizure medications.
How similar studies have gone: Previous observational and pilot work shows EEG can detect seizures in this setting, but there is limited high-quality evidence that EEG-guided treatment improves patient outcomes.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zafar, Sahar F — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Zafar, Sahar F
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.