title: Clinical course of poststroke epilepsy: a retrospective nested case-control study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, several epidemiological studies have demonstrated that epilepsy develops after approximately 10% of all cerebrovascular lesions. With an aging population, poststroke epilepsy is likely to be of increasing relevance to neurologists and more knowledge on the condition is needed. Patients with poststroke epilepsy are likely to differ from other epilepsy patient populations regarding age, side-effect tolerability, comorbidities, and life expectancy, all of which are important aspects when counselling newly diagnosed patients to make informed treatment decisions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We have here performed a nested case-control study on 36 patients with poststroke epilepsy and 55 controls that suffered stroke but did not develop epilepsy. The average follow-up time was between 3 and 4 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our material, two-thirds of patients achieved seizure freedom and 25% experienced a prolonged seizure (status epilepticus) during the follow-up period. Cases consumed more health care following their stroke, but did not suffer more traumatic injuries. Interestingly, the mortality among cases and controls did not differ significantly. This observation needs to be confirmed in larger prospective studies, but indicate that poststroke epilepsy might not infer additional mortality in this patient group with considerable comorbidities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observations presented can be of value in the counselling of patients, reducing the psychosocial impact of the diagnosis, and planning of future research on poststroke epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zelano
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Rebecca Gertz
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Lundberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Leopold
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baars
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Emelie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hedegärd
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kumlien
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Cerebrovascular diseases; epilepsy; treatment