This site is intended for Healthcare Professionals only

Excellent long-term outcomes after childhood epilepsy

Clinical bookmark icon off

Excellent long-term outcomes after childhood epilepsy

Long-term seizure-related outcomes are “excellent” in people who experienced childhood epilepsy while, in neurotypical community-based young adults, there seems to be no “substantial or lasting” link between childhood epilepsy and the later development of psychiatric disorders. These are the findings of two new studies published recently in Epilepsia.

The first study (doi:10.1111/epi.13187) included 179 subjects with childhood-onset epilepsy when they were 45 years of age. Fifty-one subjects with uncomplicated epilepsy and 52 controls underwent detailed evaluation at 50 years of age.

At 45 years of age, 61 per cent of patients had been in remission for at least 10 years at their last follow-up and 43 per cent were in remission and not taking antiepileptic drugs. Ninety-five per cent of those who had idiopathic epilepsy, 72 per cent of those with cryptogenic seizures and 47 per cent of the remote symptomatic group were in remission.

Twice as common

MRI abnormalities were twice as common in subjects than in controls at 50 years of age. In particular, MRI markers of cerebrovascular disease were 2.5 times commoner in those with a history of childhood epilepsy.

No differences emerged in serum markers of, or risk factors for, cerebrovascular disease, including dyslipidaemia, smoking, obesity and hypertension. “This suggests that it is the epilepsy, including the underlying etiology, seizures and treatment, that may be responsible for these early changes,” the authors comment.

The second study (doi:10.1111/epi.13123) enrolled 257 neurotypical community-based young adults who had been followed for approximately 15 years. Researchers found no evidence suggesting a higher prevalence of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in people with a history of childhood epilepsy compared with either 134 siblings or 771 unrelated controls.

Patients in this study were in the community rather than under specialist care at their initial diagnosis, they were generally not taking antiepileptic drugs, were typically relapse-free for many years and assessed for psychiatric conditions at a later age than in the previous studies. These differences might explain why the findings conflict with some of these previous studies.

Copy Link copy link button

Clinical

Let’s get clinical. Follow the links below to find out more about the latest clinical insight in community pharmacy.

Share: