Epilepsy classification and factors associated with control in Saudi adultpatients

There is insufficient information on the epilepsies in Saudi Arabia. The ob jectives were to classify the patients according to seizure types and epile psies as well as to determine the factors associated with control. In a hos pital-based study, clinical information, electroencephalographic and neuroi maging findings were utilized to classify the cases into seizure types and epilepsies according to ILAE criteria and to determine the factors statisti cally associated with control. in the study there were 826 patients (454 ma les and 372 females, mean age = 28.7 years; >80% below 30 years at onset). The seizure types were: generalized tonic-clonic (43.8%), partial seizure s econdarily generalized (41.9%), myoclonic (8.4%), simple partial (1.3%), co mplex partial (1.3%) and absence (0.4%). About 15% of the classifiable epil epsies were symptomatic. Most symptomatic epilepsies occurred in people ove r the age of 50 years. One-year remission rate was 80% and the factors asso ciated with control were: compliance, monotherapy, therapeutic drug level a nd seizure type. The results showed that epilepsy predominantly affected yo ung adults and confirmed the association of partial epilepsy with clinical and CT abnormalities. The 1-year remission rate was comparable with reports from Other studies as well as the factors associated with control in our p atients.