TY - JOUR
T1 - Characteristics of a large population of patients with refractory epilepsy attending tertiary referral centers in Italy
AU - Alexandre, Veriano
AU - Capovilla, Giuseppe
AU - Fattore, Cinzia
AU - Franco, Valentina
AU - Gambardella, Antonio
AU - Guerrini, Renzo
AU - La Briola, Francesca
AU - Ladogana, Marianna
AU - Rosati, Eleonora
AU - Specchio, Luigi Maria
AU - Striano, Salvatore
AU - Perucca, Emilio
PY - 2010/5
Y1 - 2010/5
N2 - The characteristics of 1,124 consecutive adults and children with refractory epilepsy attending 11 tertiary referral centers in Italy were investigated at enrollment into a prospective observational study. Among 933 adults (age 16-86 years), the most common syndromes were symptomatic (43.7%) and cryptogenic (39.0%) focal epilepsies, followed by idiopathic (8.1%) and cryptogenic/symptomatic generalized (6.2%) epilepsies. The most common syndrome among 191 children was symptomatic focal epilepsy (35.1%), followed by cryptogenic focal (18.8%), cryptogenic/symptomatic generalized (18.3%), undetermined whether focal or generalized (16.8%), and idiopathic generalized (7.3%). Primarily and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures were reported in 27.8% of adults and 16.8% of children. The most commonly reported etiologies were mesial temporal sclerosis (8.0%) and disorders of cortical development (6.2%) in adults, and disorders of cortical development (14.7%) and nonprogressive encephalopathies (6.8%) in children. More than three-fourths of subjects in both age groups were on antiepileptic drug (AED) polytherapy.
AB - The characteristics of 1,124 consecutive adults and children with refractory epilepsy attending 11 tertiary referral centers in Italy were investigated at enrollment into a prospective observational study. Among 933 adults (age 16-86 years), the most common syndromes were symptomatic (43.7%) and cryptogenic (39.0%) focal epilepsies, followed by idiopathic (8.1%) and cryptogenic/symptomatic generalized (6.2%) epilepsies. The most common syndrome among 191 children was symptomatic focal epilepsy (35.1%), followed by cryptogenic focal (18.8%), cryptogenic/symptomatic generalized (18.3%), undetermined whether focal or generalized (16.8%), and idiopathic generalized (7.3%). Primarily and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures were reported in 27.8% of adults and 16.8% of children. The most commonly reported etiologies were mesial temporal sclerosis (8.0%) and disorders of cortical development (6.2%) in adults, and disorders of cortical development (14.7%) and nonprogressive encephalopathies (6.8%) in children. More than three-fourths of subjects in both age groups were on antiepileptic drug (AED) polytherapy.
KW - Clinical features
KW - Drug resistance
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Epilepsy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77951555153&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77951555153&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2009.02512.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2009.02512.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 20132292
AN - SCOPUS:77951555153
VL - 51
SP - 921
EP - 925
JO - Epilepsia
JF - Epilepsia
SN - 0013-9580
IS - 5
ER -