Aims: To study the characteristics and clinical course of the seizures in patients with post-stroke epilepsy, to evaluate the clinical behaviour of the epilepsy depending on the early or late onset of the seizures, and to analyse the effectiveness of antiepileptic treatment.
Patients and methods: Since 1990, a total of 1400 patients have been analysed at the epilepsy service. Epilepsy was diagnosed as having a vascular origin in 69, and after suffering a stroke 41. A retrospective study was conducted with the following eligibility criteria: suffering a stroke and, later, at least one crisis as a result of the first event.
Results: Mean age at the time of the stroke: 54.7 +/- 20.5 years (range: 3-85 years).
Follow-up: 7.6 years (53.7% over 5 years). Type of stroke: ischaemic, 75.6%, and haemorrhagic 24.4%. Aetiology of the stroke: atherothrombotic, 29.2%, and cardioembolic, 24.4%. Mean interval between the stroke and the first seizure: 18 months (range: 0-17 years) (six patients the same day the stroke occurred, all of which were haemorrhagic). Type of seizures: secondarily generalised partial, 60.9%; generalised primary, 21.9%; and partial, 17.1%. Single crisis: 19.5%. Early seizures, 36.6%, and late, 63.4%. In all, 19.1% of the patients suffered a single crisis after the stroke.
Treatment: phenytoin (43.9%), carbamazepine (19.5%) and lamotrigine (19.5%). Fourteen patients required combination therapy. At the end of the follow-up 53.7% were free of seizures.
Conclusions: In the analysis that was performed, an association was found between a cardioembolic aetiology and late onset of the seizures. On comparing the type of seizures, early versus late, the courses paralleled each other in the two types of patients. A little over half the patients were free of seizures.