Department of Neurology and Epileptology - Alfried Krupp Hospital in Essen-Ruettenscheid

About the Department of Neurology and Epileptology at Alfried Krupp Hospital in Essen-Ruettenscheid

According to the famous Focus magazine, the Department of Neurology and Epileptology at the Alfried Krupp Hospital in Essen-Ruettenscheid ranks among the best German neurological clinics! 

The department provides modern services for the prevention, diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the nervous system. The medical facility specializes in the conservative treatment of the full range of acute and chronic diseases of the brain and spinal cord, as well as of the peripheral nervous system. The department has an advanced Stroke Unit certified in accordance with the standards of the German Stroke Society (DSG). The treatment of neuromuscular diseases and multiple sclerosis is carried out in highly specialized centers. An important ​​clinical focus of neurologists is epilepsy treatment. The team of the department's neurologists often admits patients with complex clinical cases, and therefore in order to successfully treat neurological disorders, doctors cooperate closely with neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, vascular surgeons and other specialists. The patients receive medical care on an inpatient basis, and can also undergo outpatient treatment. The medical facility has 53 beds. The doctors are guided by current clinical protocols and recommendations of professional societies. The Head Physician of the department is Prof. Dr. med. Roland Veltkamp.

The department is often visited by patients with movement disorders, so the specialized outpatient clinic has been established here to provide medical care for such neurological disorders. At the initial consultation, the neurologis studies the patient's medical history and appoints the necessary set of diagnostic tests, which usually includes laboratory tests, electromyography and electroneurography. As a rule, the examination is carried out on an outpatient basis, and hospitalization is required only in particularly complex cases. The most common types of movement disorders treated by the department's specialists include Parkinson's disease, spasticity, focal dystonia (especially cervical dystonia), hemifacial spasm and blepharospasm. In most cases, the doctors of the medical facility treat movement disorders using injection therapy with botulinum toxin. The drug administration regimen is selected for each patient individually. The course is usually repeated at intervals of three months, until the desired result is achieved. In addition, botulinum toxin therapy often requires concomitant physiotherapy.

An important place in the department's clinical practice is also given to the treatment of multiple sclerosis, which is a chronic inflammatory process in the central nervous system. As of today, the pathology is incurable, but modern medicine offers various types of therapy for slowing down the progression of the pathological process and preventing disability. Patients with multiple sclerosis are admitted to a specialized outpatient clinic certified in accordance with the standards of the German Multiple Sclerosis Society (DMSG). The specialists of the outpatient clinic provide treatment to more than 2,300 patients annually. The course of the disease in each patient is different – most often periods of exacerbation are followed by periods of remission, while exacerbations can develop once every three months or once every three years, so the treatment regimen is developed based on the clinical data of a particular patient. To fight multiple sclerosis, the department's neurologists use new generation medicines, the administration of which is complemented by physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and other types of treatment.

The department also has an outpatient clinic specializing in the diagnostics and treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It admits patients with a confirmed diagnosis and suspected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In addition, the outpatient clinic can also provide medical care for patients with other motor neuron diseases: hereditary spastic paraplegia, spinal muscular atrophy, etc. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) causes the death of brain and spinal cord cells responsible for muscle movement. The pathological process results in muscle weakness and paralysis. Unfortunately, today there are no methods that can completely cure ALS, so the task of doctors is to slow down the progression of pathology, alleviate symptoms and maintain a high quality of life for the patient. The treatment involves the use of pharmacotherapy, physiotherapy procedures, occupational therapy, speech therapy and other methods. The methods of alternative medicine are sometimes recommended to patients as well.

An important area of ​​work of the department's medical team is the treatment of polyneuropathies. The physicians have vast clinical experience in the treatment of Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, multifocal motor neuropathy, and small fiber neuropathy. In most cases, the treatment of polyneuropathies is based on the use of pathogenetic pharmacotherapy.

Of particular interest to the department's doctors is the diagnostics and treatment of epilepsy – a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. With confirmed epilepsy, the first-line therapy is the intake of anticonvulsants (antiepileptic drugs) Depending on the particular type of epilepsy and the patient's overall health condition, an epileptologist individually selects one drug or a combination of several drugs. If pharmacotherapy is ineffective, the department's specialists together with neurosurgeons consider other treatment options, namely electrical vagus nerve stimulation, deep brain stimulation or surgery.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Diagnostics and treatment of stroke, including in young people under the age of 45
• Diagnostics and treatment of movement disorders
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Spasticity
  • Focal dystonia (in particular, cervical dystonia)
  • Hemifacial spasm
  • Blepharospasm
• Diagnostics and treatment of multiple sclerosis
• Diagnostics and treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, hereditary spastic paraplegia and spinal muscular atrophy
• Diagnostics and treatment of polyneuropathies
• Diagnostics and treatment of epilepsy
• Diagnostics and treatment of autonomic nervous system disorders (for example, dizziness and syncopes)
• Diagnostics and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia
• Diagnostics and treatment of chronic headaches and chronic spinal pain
• Diagnostics and treatment of moyamoya disease and cerebral vasculitis
• Diagnostics and treatment of neuroimmunological diseases
  • Autoimmune encephalitis
  • Susac syndrome
  • Neuromyelitis optica
• Diagnostics and treatment of other neurological disorders

The department's therapeutic options include:

• Pharmacotherapy with pills
• Botulinum toxin injection therapy
• Thrombolytic therapy
• Immunoglobulin therapy
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
• Monoclonal antibody therapy
• Plasmapheresis
• Therapeutic lumbar puncture
• Multimodal pain management
• Physiotherapy
• Therapeutic exercises
• Kinesiotherapy
• Acupuncture
• Massage
• Other treatment methods