Abstracts

Rationale: Cryptogenic epilepsy is a recognized epilepsy class that has no identified aetiology, and is presumed to be symptomatic. Data on the prognosis of this epilepsy type is scarce, for which seizure control of patients with cryptogenic epilepsy over one year was analysed. Methods: Patients with cryptogenic (unknown) epilepsy seen in our hospital between January and December of 2012 were identified, but only those with a one year follow up data on seizure control were included. Epilepsy risk factors were determined for all patients, and seizure control was recorded at 12 months follow up. Predictors of seizure control were also analyzed. Results: A total of 88 patients were studied.The mean age of epilepsy onset was 19 years (range; 1 - 43 year). There were 41 men (47%). Seizure semiology was thought to be partial in 53 cases (60 %) and unclassified in 35 (40%). MRI of the brain did not identified any lesion in all of the patients, and EEG showed epileptic discharges in half of them (44 cases). At one year follow up, 65 cases ( 74%) were seizure free, where 55% (36 patients) of them were men and 45% (29 patients) were women ( p value = 0.007). Seizures of partial onset were documented in 54% of patients who were seizure free, and undetermined seizure onset was documented in 46% (P = 0.05). Neither the age at epilepsy onset nor the investigation findings (EEG or brain MRI) affected seizure control in these patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that men were five times more likely to be seizure free in one year follow up (p = 0.008, OR = 5.1, 95% CI = 1.5-17.5), but other variables failed to predict seizure control over the study period. Conclusions: Gender affects the prognosis of cryptogenic epilepsy in our studied population. The exact cause could not be determined but a hormonal effect may play a role. Future studies are needed to further clarify such findings.