Shorter epilepsy duration is associated with better seizure outcome in temporal lobe epilepsy surgery

• Main Authors: Lucas Crociati Meguins, Rodrigo Antônio Rocha da Cruz Adry, Sebastião Carlos da Silva-Junior, Gerardo Maria de Araújo Filho, Lúcia Helena Neves Marques
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO) 2015-03-01
• Series: Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
• Subjects: epilepsia do lobo temporal; idade no momento da cirurgia; duração da epilepsia; controle das crises
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2015000300212&lng=en&tlng=en
• ISSN: 1678-4227

Objective To investigate the influence of patient’s age and seizure onset on surgical outcome of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Method A retrospective observational investigation performed from a cohort of patients from 2000 to 2012. Results A total of 229 patients were included. One-hundred and eleven of 179 patients (62%) were classified as Engel I in the group with < 50 years old, whereas 33 of 50 (66%) in the group with ≥ 50 years old group (p = 0.82). From those Engel I, 88 (61%) reported epilepsy duration inferior to 10 years and 56 (39%) superior to 10 years (p < 0.01). From the total of patients not seizure free, 36 (42%) reported epilepsy duration inferior to 10 years and 49 (58%) superior to 10 years (p < 0.01). Conclusion Patients with shorter duration of epilepsy before surgery had better postoperative seizure control than patients with longer duration of seizures.