Research: Seizures in MS

Epub: Adelöw et al. Unprovoked seizures in multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus: A population-based case-control study.Epilepsy Res. 2012 May.

To study the risk of developing unprovoked seizures among MSers and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), we used 1885 new onset seizure cases, 15,080 controls and defined exposure as a hospital discharge diagnosis of MS or SLE. The odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was 3.7 (CI 1.2-11.0) for MS and 8.0 (2.2-30.0) for SLE, suggesting an increased risk of unprovoked seizures in patients with both these diagnoses.



"Seizures are not uncommon in MSers and are presumably due to gray matter involvement. The most common are secondary generalised epilepsy; these start with an aura before spreading to the whole brain. Seizures in MSers typically respond well to anti-convulsants."

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