Abstracts

Rationale: The aim of this study was to evaluate utility of EpiTrack for screening patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy for cognitive changes before and during the treatment course. Methods: EpiTrack is a screening tool developed to detect and track cognitive side effects of antiepileptics (AED) and seizures in adults under the age of 60 years. The test battery includes six subtests requiring attention, cognitive tracking and working memory and it enables repeated measures. All patients who were diagnosed at our First Seizure Clinic have been tested at baseline before AED was initiated and at 6 months follow-up in order to early identification of a possible change in the cognitive function. Results: Thirty-two patients were included in this prospective study with an equal sex distribution and a mean age of 30.4 years (17-58 y). Nine patients were excluded, as they did not wish to be re-tested. The results of repeated screening scores of 23 patients have been analysed. The most commonly used AED were lamotrigine (56%) and levetiracetam (30%), and only 3 patients were on valproic acid and carbamazepine, respectively. Age-corrected EpiTrack scores at 6 months were compared to baseline measurements. The temporarily results do not show significant change in cognitive function by this screening method before and after the treatment -0,643±1.906 scores (p=0.23). Conclusions: EpiTrack cannot replace a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. However, it is a brief and useful screening tool that can be routinely performed by a trained nurse and it is easy to implement in the daily clinical practice at an outpatient clinic. Early detection of unrecognized cognitive disturbance may indicate the need for re-evaluation of the medication choice. Furthermore, the screening scores could also indicate the efficacy of the treatment, as improvement in seizure frequency expects to improve the cognitive function. Our observations in this small material supports the utility of this tool especially in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy. References: 1. Lutz MT, Helmstaedter C.: EpiTrack: Tacking cognitive side effects of medication on attention and executive functions in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav. 2005;7:708-714.2. Witt JA., Helmstaedter C. Should cognition be screened in new-onset epilepsies? A study in 247 untreated patients. J Neurol. 2012;259(8):1727-1731. Funding: The study has been supported by UCB Nordic A/S.