Etiology of epilepsy. A prospective study of 210 cases.
The objective of this study was to establish the etiology of epilepsy in 210 chronic epileptics (110 female, 100 male), aged 14-82 years (34.2 +/- 13.3). Patients less than 10 years-old and alcoholism were excluded. All underwent neurological examination, routine blood tests, EEG and CT-scan. Twenty patients (10.5%) were submitted to spinal tap for CSF examination. Neurological examination was abnormal in 26 (12.4%), the EEG in 68 (45.5%), and CT-scan in 93 (44.3%). According to the International Classification of Epileptic Seizures (1981), 101 (48.1%) have generalized seizures, 66 (31.4%) partial seizures secondarily generalized, 25 (11.8%) simple partial and complex partial seizures, and 14 (6.6%) generalized and partial seizures. Four patients (2.0%) could not be classified. In 125 (59.5%) patients the etiology was unknown. Neurocysticercosis accounted for 57 (27.1%) of cases, followed by cerebrovascular disease 8 (3.8%), perinatal damage 5 (2.4%), familial epilepsy 4 (1.9%), head injury 4 (1.9%), infective 1 (0.5%), and miscelanea 6 (2.8%).
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Departamento de Neurologia, Unidade de Ciências Neurológicas, Curitiba, Brasil.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003551:Cysticercosis / Q000150:complications; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation