AIIMS Launches Low-Cost Precision Blood Tests To Personalise Epilepsy Care And Reduce Medication Side Effects

“Sometimes the medicines made me so dizzy I could barely walk,” recalls Mannat Kumar. For 24-year-old Mannat Kumar, who has been living with epilepsy for nearly eight years, the struggle was not limited to recurring seizures. The medicines meant to control his condition often left him exhausted, dizzy, and unable to concentrate.

“Sometimes the medicines made me so sleepy and dizzy that I could barely walk properly or attend work regularly. But if the dosage were reduced, the seizures would come back,” he said while waiting outside the neurology outpatient department of a hospital.

Like thousands of epilepsy patients in India, Mannat spent years navigating the difficult balance between controlling seizures and coping with medication-related side effects. Doctors say this challenge is common because anti-epileptic medicines do not affect every patient in the same way. A dose that works safely for one person may prove ineffective or even toxic for another.

In a move expected to improve precision-based epilepsy care, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has now launched an advanced blood testing facility that can help doctors personalise treatment and make epilepsy medication safer and more effective.

The new service, started at the Neurosciences Centre of AIIMS, will monitor blood levels of two widely used anti-epileptic medicines—levetiracetam and lamotrigine—through a specialised process called Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM).

Doctors say the technology can help determine whether the amount of medicine in a patient’s bloodstream is too low to control seizures or high enough to trigger serious side effects such as dizziness, excessive sleepiness, behavioural changes, liver toxicity, or skin reactions.

The facility began functioning this week and is currently being offered free of cost. Officials said that even after formal pricing is introduced under institute policy, the tests are expected to remain highly subsidised.

At present, similar testing in private laboratories can cost between ₹6,000 and ₹10,000 per drug, making it unaffordable for many patients who require repeated monitoring over several years.

Neurologists say epilepsy treatment often involves long-term medication and regular dose adjustments, particularly in children, elderly patients, pregnant women, and individuals with liver or kidney disorders.

Experts explained that several factors—including age, body weight, metabolism, diet, concurrent medicines, and genetic differences—can influence how anti-epileptic drugs behave inside the body. As a result, patients taking identical doses may show vastly different blood concentrations and treatment responses.

The new testing facility is expected to help doctors tailor treatment according to individual patient needs rather than relying only on standard dosage schedules.

Prof. S.B. Gaikwad, chief of the Neurosciences Centre, said advanced neurodiagnostic facilities are helping improve diagnosis and treatment of complex neurological disorders.

Prof. Ashok Sharma, professor-in-charge of the Neurobiochemistry Laboratory, added that only a small blood sample is needed for the test, and reports will be available online through the e-hospital and ORS portals.

They said that the in-house availability of TDM services would significantly reduce waiting time and improve access to precision medicine approaches in epilepsy care.

The facility is available for both outpatient and admitted patients at AIIMS, New Delhi, as well as at the National Cancer Institute, AIIMS Jhajjar campus.

According to the doctors, epilepsy remains one of the most common neurological disorders in India, affecting millions of people across age groups. Yet, access to specialised neurological care and advanced diagnostic support remains uneven, particularly outside metropolitan cities.

While anti-epileptic drugs can successfully control seizures in a majority of patients, improper dosing remains a major challenge. Too little medicine may fail to prevent seizures, increasing the risk of accidents, injuries, and long-term neurological complications. Excessive drug levels, meanwhile, can result in severe toxicity and poor quality of life.

Public health experts say the launch of low-cost TDM services at a major public institution like AIIMS could have wider implications for affordable precision medicine in India.

For patients like Mannat Kumar, the development represents more than just another laboratory service.

“If doctors can know exactly how much medicine my body needs, maybe life can finally become more normal,” he said.