Profile of stroke-related late onset epilepsy among Nigerians

Abstract

Background: Cerebrovascular diseases have become an increasingly common cause of seizure in the later years of life in the developing countries. Despite the huge data from the developed world on the subject matter, there is paucity of information on this from Nigeria.
Methodology: In a study of late onset epilepsy (i.e onset of epilepsy at =25 yrs.) in which a total of 302 consecutive patients were recruited. in three tertiary centres from northern and southern Nigeria, those with neuroimaging finding in keeping with stroke were selected to to determine their clinical , neuroimaging and electroencephalographic profile as well as response to anticonvulsants.
Result: Sixty eight (39 males, 29 females) out of 302 (22.5%) patients with late onset epilepsy (LOE) were studied. Their ages ranged between 39 and 77 years (SD=10). 58 subjects had cerebral infarction while10 were hemorrhagic. 53 of the 58 patients with infarction involved the cerebral cortex. The most common seizure type was simple partial diagnosed in forty eight (70.6%) subjects. Electroencephalography (EEG) was abnormal in 46 (67.6%) of the patients. The most common EEG finding was the presence of focal epileptiform discharges (47.1%) followed by focal slowing (8.8%). At 3-month follow up, 52% of the patients had good seizure control. Our results highlight demographic, EEG and clinical pattern of post-stroke epilepsy, importance of neuroimaging LOE is emphasized.

Key Words: Epilepsy, late onset profile