The epidemiology of post-stroke epilepsy according to stroke subtypes

Abstract

Objectives - Strokes represent the most common etiology of epilepsy in patients over the age of 60 years, with an incidence of 2-4% occurring in different studies. Materials and Methods - In this observational study, 1,428 patients were included who had stroke and were admitted to our Stroke Unit between the years 1996 and 2005. Results - Overall, 51 patients had post-stroke epilepsy (3.6%). Post-ischemic epilepsy occurred in 70.6% of the patients, post-hemorrhagic epilepsy occurred in 21.6% of the patients and epilepsy following venous infarctions occurred in 7.8% of all post-stroke epilepsy patients. Of 1,327 patients having ischemic stroke, 36 patients (2.7%), 11 out of 86 patients with hemorrhagic stroke (12.8%) and 4 of 15 patients with venous infarctions (26.6%) developed epilepsy. Compared with stroke patients without epilepsy, hemorrhagic (P < 0.001) and venous infarctions were more common in patients with post-stroke epilepsy (P < 0.001). The right hemisphere and the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory were most commonly observed in ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients. Conclusions - Our results indicate that post-stroke epilepsy is more common among patients who have experienced venous infarctions. Hemorrhagic and venous infarctions are more commonly encountered in post-stroke epilepsy patients. Atherosclerotic and cardioembolic strokes were similar to those that occurred in post-stroke epilepsy patients. Localizations in post-stroke epileptic patients showed that the majority occurred in the right hemisphere, in the territory of the MCA. However, prospective, multicentered studies are needed for a better understanding of the epidemiology and social impact of post-stroke epilepsy.