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About Us

Location

Toronto Western Hospital
West Wing – 2nd Floor, in the Division of Neurology


Contact

Epilepsy Nurse – Chari Anor
Phone: 416 603 5800 ext. 2446

Hours

Clinic Hours
1st Wednesday of every month

If you wish to contact us we are available during regular business hours.
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 4:00 pm


Location

Contact

Hours

Location

Contact

Hours

Location

Contact

Hours


Referrals

Now accepting Ocean eReferrals

This clinic is now accepting referrals through Ocean eReferral to help everyone save time and increase efficiency.



For urgent referrals, please contact Dr. Bercovici's office directly to request urgent care.

Please note that only physicians may send a referral. Please send an Ocean eReferral or fax the completed referral form to 416 603 5768. Please include the following when referring your patient:

  • Baseline blood work results
  • Baseline ECG
  • EEG
  • Previous neurology consults / follow-up
  • Brain imaging

Our office will call the referring physician with information about the patient's first appointment. The referring physician's office is responsible for providing the patient with the appointment information, including time and location, and important documents, test results and imaging that they must bring.

Please note that clinic appointments may be virtual visits. The clinic team will let you know what type of appointment is appropriate for your care. Learn more about virtual visits at UHN »

What We Do

Patients with epilepsy tend to have unprovoked seizures. While most patients can be easily helped with antiepileptic medication, about 1 in 3 people will continue to have seizures despite medications. These seizures can also get in the way of a person's everyday life and impact their function and independence. While some patients can be treated with surgery, others have few treatment options.

Some studies have shown that a special diet can reduce seizures. Often referred to as the Ketogenic diet, this is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet which has been proven to help reduce seizures in patients with epilepsy. Many centres are providing this diet for children. However, we have created the first adult epilepsy diet clinic in Ontario. In adults we sometimes use a more liberal form of the ketogenic diet called the Modified Atkins Diet which is not as strict as the ketogenic diet but is very efficacious. This diet has been shown to help reduce seizures in adults with various types of epilepsy (focal or generalized).

For more information on epilepsy diet therapy, including recipes, please visit Dr. Bercovici's website.

Tests & Services

The following investigations should be performed before you are seen at the Epilepsy Diet Clinic at TWH

  • Blood tests
  • Urinalysis
  • EKG

Previous investigations of your epilepsy include: (Unless all of your workup has been done at UHN)

  • MRI
  • EEG

Note: if you cannot complete the tests well in advance of your appointment please notify the clinic because we may need to postpone your appointment.

How to Prepare

Please allocate 2-3 hours for the initial visit as it will likely involve a review of your medical history and diet. Follow-up visits can be 1-2 hours in duration depending on how you have responded to the diet and the amount of changes that need to be made.

As a tertiary care centre UHN prides itself in not just excellent clinical care but also world-renowned research. From time to time you may be asked to participate in a research study. This is very important in this new and expanding field and will greatly benefit future patients. Please note that participating in research is voluntary and will not impact your care. Please let one of your team members know if you have any questions or concerns.

Learn more about what you can expect when you have a clinic appointment.

Health Information

Materials and Resources to Help You

Resources from the Patient & Family Education Program PDF Icon

    Visit our Health Information section to find​​ dedicated resources to help you understand your condition. Find the information you're looking for.

    Our Team

    Meet Our Team

    We are very excited to provide diet therapy as part of our comprehensive epilepsy program. This is the first official adult epilepsy diet clinic in Ontario and we hope this will help our patients with epilepsy who have had a difficult time controlling seizures with other conventional therapy. We are proud of the team of clinicians working hard to make this clinic possible

    Co-director UHN Epilepsy Program: Dr. Taufik Valiante, Neurosurgeon

    Co-director UHN Epilepsy Program: Dr. Danielle Andrade, Neurologist


    Neurologist/Epileptologist

    • Dr. Eduard Bercovici

    Registered Dietician

    • Debra MacGarvie

    Registered Nurse

    • Chari Anor

    Community Liaison Support

    As this clinic serves patients from large geographic areas we recommend patients be in touch with their local epilepsy chapter

    1. Toronto and GTA (Epilepsy Toronto)
    2. Peel / Halton / Hamilton (EHPH)
    3. Durham Region
    4. York Region

    We are proud to collaborate with Matthews Friends, a nonprofit organization supporting the Ketogenic Diet. They now have a Canadian Chapter located in Mississauga but they support patients from all over Ontario.​

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