Certain clinical and EEG characteristics may predict resistance to antiseizure medication in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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THURSDAY, Nov. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Catamenial epilepsy, some seizure-type combinations, and specific electroencephalography (EEG) characteristics are associated with antiseizure medication (ASM)-resistant idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), according to a study published online Oct. 27 in Epilepsia<\/em>.<\/p>\n Brad K. Kamitaki, from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and colleagues assessed clinical and EEG characteristics to identify those that differentiate ASM-resistant versus ASM-responsive patients with IGE. The analysis included 118 ASM-resistant cases and 114 ASM-responsive controls with IGE treated at five epilepsy centers in the United States and Australia between 2002 and 2018.<\/p>\n The researchers found that catamenial epilepsy was associated with ASM-resistant IGE (odds ratio [OR], 3.53) in an adjusted analysis. ASM resistance was also associated with certain seizure-type combinations (absence, myoclonic, and generalized tonic-clonic seizures [OR, 7.06]; absence and generalized tonic-clonic seizures [OR, 4.45]). Further, EEG markers of increased generalized spike-wave discharges in sleep (GSWs; OR, 3.43 for frequent; OR, 7.21 for abundant discharges in sleep) and the presence of generalized polyspike trains (GPTs; OR, 5.49) were associated with ASM resistance.<\/p>\n “Obtaining prolonged EEG studies to record the burden of GSWs in sleep and assessing for the presence of GPTs may provide additional predictive value,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n