Epilepsy and refractory epilepsy is less likely to be associated with stroke in older adult survivors and more likely to be associated with younger age and other factors, according to a recent study published in Neurology.
Researchers designed a retrospective cohort study using population-based data from linked health records in Ontario, Canada, to investigate the occurrence of new-onset stroke-related epilepsy cases, and to determine factors associated with resulting epilepsy or refractory epilepsy. Using records from the Ontario Stroke Registry, researchers identified all stroke patients aged 67 years old or older who had been discharged from designated stroke centers between April 2003, and March 2009. Investigators reviewed records up to 2 years postdischarge in order to identify diagnoses of new-onset epilepsy. Researchers then noted diagnoses of refractory epilepsy, defined as continued seizures despite “2 adequate pharmacologic intervention trials within 18 months.”