Intracranial meningiomas and epilepsy: incidence, prognosis and influencing factors

In a retrospective study of a consecutive series of 222 surgically treated meningiomas, it was found that 26.6% of the patients presented epilepsy as their initial symptom. In this group, surgical excision of the intracranial meningiomas stopped the epilepsy in about 62.7% of the patients. But appro ximately one-fifth of the patients with intracranial meningiomas and no his tory of preoperative epilepsy developed new onset postoperative seizures. O f the patients with early onset of postoperative epilepsy, epilepsy appeare d in 66.7% within first 48 h after surgery. Of the patients with postoperat ive epilepsy, 71.2% were seizure-free following 1 year of anticonvulsant th erapy. Regarding preoperative existing factors, intracranial meningiomas lo cated at supratentorium, convexity, and with evidence of or severe peritumo ral edema significantly contributed to preoperative epilepsy. And in patien ts with preoperative epilepsy, those tumors with evidence of or severe peri focal edema and cerebral edema at the operative site were significantly mor e likely to suffer from postoperative epilepsy. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.