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Diseases &… Childhood Developmental Disorders…

Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Center

at the Center for Child and Adolescent Medicine in Heidelberg

The Department of Pediatric Neurology, along with the affiliated Epilepsy Center, deals with the treatment of and research into neurological diseases in childhood. We work in close cooperation with international researchers and doctors in order to offer each child modern and individual diagnostics and therapy.

Our worldwide renowned Metabolic Laboratory ensures fast diagnostic results to test for congenital metabolic diseases, if suspected. Thus, a targeted therapy can be induced (including enzyme replacement therapy). Our certified Epilepsy Center combines all diagnostic options from the treatment of congenital genetic epilepsies to the assessment of potential surgical procedures for epilepsy in children and adults. We have intensive expertise regarding the treatment of infectious diseases, for example auto-immune brain inflammation, multiple sclerosis and infectious brain diseases (e.g. borreliosis or meningitis).

Portrait of Prof. Dr. med. Stefan Kölker
Prof. Dr. med. Stefan Kölker

Head of Division of Neuropaediatrics and Pediatric Metabolic Medicine

Our main emphasis is on

Epilepsy and epileptic encephalopathies in childhood

  • Our certified Epilepsy Center combines all diagnostic options from the treatment of congenital genetic epilepsies to the assessment of potential surgical procedures for epilepsy in children and adults.
  • Our clinic is certified as an epilepsy center and epilepsy outpatient clinic.

Neurodegenerative and neurometabolic disorders

  • Our worldwide renowned Metabolic Laboratory ensures fast diagnostic results to test for congenital metabolic diseases, if suspected. Thus, a targeted therapy can be induced (including enzyme replacement therapy)

Infectious diseases of the central nervous system

  • We have intensive expertise regarding the treatment of infectious diseases, for example auto-immune brain inflammation, multiple sclerosis and infectious brain diseases (e.g. borreliosis or meningitis)

Neuromuscular diseases and diseases of the peripheral nervous system

Vascular disorders of the central nervous system

Motor disorders

Functional pain syndromes or psychosomatic diseases with neurological symptoms

Team of specialists

To help children with these varied problems, we work in a team of pediatric neurologists, specially trained pediatric nurses, and expert psychologists, ergotherapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, social educators, and dieticians. We treat patients with neurosurgical problems jointly with physicians from the respective surgical departments. We have inpatient and outpatient facilities for diagnostics, treatment, and long-term follow-up. Patients with neurosurgical indications are treated in close cooperation with our surgical departments. Our neurosurgical team has highest expertise in the treatmenet of neurosurgical diseases for children as well as adults, including new surgical techniques within the womb and newborns.

For your medical diagnosis, we have the entire range of modern examination methods of a university children’s hospital available, including

  • EEG (standard, sleep, long-term, video),
  • neurophysiology (evoked potentials, neurography, electromyography),
  • long-term video EEG monitoring for the diagnosis of therapy-resistant epilepsy, 
  • magnetoencephalography,
  • imaging (ultrasound, CT, MRI, SPECT, PET),
  • and special laboratory examinations, especially for congenital metabolic disorders.

Symptoms and findings are discussed by specialists in joint interdisciplinary conferences.

Epilepsy Center

The epilepsy center includes a special outpatient clinic for treatment-resistant epilepsy with an inpatient section. It is integrated into the pediatric neurology ward and is staffed by highly specialized physicians and nurses. In the epilepsy center, sophisticated pre-surgical epilepsy diagnostic tests are conducted on children and adolescents with symptomatic epilepsy who do not respond satisfactorily to medication. In these patients, structural damage to the brain can trigger seizures. If we succeed in localizing the origin of the epileptic seizures, surgical removal of the diseased tissue can often eliminate seizures. After comprehensive epilepsy diagnostics, experts must decide on a case-to-case basis whether this surgery is a treatment option.

Inpatient treatment

Our patients are accommodated in double and triple rooms with bath and TV. We support your wish to remain with your child around the clock. Depending on your child’s age, a parent can be accommodated on the ward. Please state this during admission. Healthy siblings can be cared for during the day in the “Kinderplanet” in the main building.

Rare Diseases

A large number of patients is affected by a so-called rare disease. Together with our Center for Rare Diseases, we work hard for a fast diagnosis and treatment. To achieve this, we offer specialized diagnostic pathways and the most modern diagnostic techniques.

For our little patients, we endeavor to be in exchange with the patients’ parents regarding patient care and the development of treatment plans in order to ensure long-term therapy success. This is how a multi-professional team at a modern and renowned University Hospital strives to ensure successful treatment and patient satisfaction.

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