Abstracts

Rationale: There are increased risk of developing post-stroke epilepsy in people who have had strokes. This study is to look at whether treating patients who had recently had a stroke with a statin medication can reduce the risk of developing post-stroke epilepsy. Methods: Patients who had a first-ever ischemic stroke and no history of epilepsy before stroke were enrolled. After a 3 year's after-stoke period, a follow-up assessment was performed to identify poststroke epilepsy and to determine which of these patients had received statins. To assess the relationship between statin use and poststroke epilepsy, logistic regression test was done. The analysis focuses on whether patients who are treated with statins were less likely to develop epilepsy later on. Results: Of 512 enrolled patients, 37 (7.3%) patients had poststroke epilepsy. Statin use was associated with a lower risk of poststroke seizures (odds ratio [OR] 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21?"0.59, p < 0.001). After a post-stroke period of 3 years, statin use was associated with reduced risk of poststroke epilepsy (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11?"0.91, p = 0.021). Conclusions: It is concluded that patients who are treated with statins may be less likely to have seizures after a ischemic stroke. Statin treatment may prevent future development of post-stroke epilepsy. Funding: The present research was conducted by the research fund of Dankook university.