Cerebrovascular Diseases and Early Seizure

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Cerebrovascular disease is one of the important causes of seizures and epilepsy among the advanced age group. Seziures are found to be associated with lesion localization and size in previous studies.

METHODS: Here, we aimed to detect prevelance of seizure, relation of seizure and lesion localization, and observed seizure types.

RESULTS: Three hundred seventy eight patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease or intraparenchymal hemorrhage who were followed in Cerrahpasa IVIedical School clinic were studied retrospectively and probability of seizure occurence within 1 month after stroke was evaluated.

CONCLUSION: Among 378 patients hospitalized by acute stroke, 339 were diagnosed as ischemic cerebrovascular disease and 39 (10.3%) had primary intraparenchymal hematoma. Seizures were observed in 16 patients (4.2%), 2 (%5.1) in intraparenchymal hematoma group and 14 (%4.1) in ischemic cerebrovascular disease. Early seizures were detected in 33% of patients with anterior cerebral artery, in 6.8% of posterior cerebral artery and in 3.3% of middle cerebral artery infarcts and in three patients out of 12 who were known to have epilepsy. Seizure types were secondarily generalised tonic-clonic seizure in nine cases (57%). Among whole group status epilepticus was observed in four patients (1.1%). Conclusion: Early seizure rates are found to be high among patients with anterior cerebral artery infarct and known epilepsy.