Antiepileptic drug treatment in seizure-free mesial temporal lobe epilepsy patients with hippocampal sclerosis following selective amygdalohippocampectomy.

Retrospectively we analysed postoperative AED treatment in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) who were seizure free following selective amygdalohippocampectomy (AHE). In this subgroup, we compared the patients without AEDs with that in the entire series.

RESULTS

During the year prior to surgery, in the MTLE-HS group, a mean of 2.3 +/- 0.8 AEDs were taken. The percentage of seizure-free MTLE-HS patients without AEDs increases to 40% from the postoperative year 5 on. In the ILAE Class 1a (seizure- and aura-free since surgery) at postoperative year 5 more than 60% and from postoperative year 7 on more than 90% have discontinued AED intake.

CONCLUSIONS

These figures indicate that reduction and discontinuation of AEDs is the same in the subgroup "seizure-free MTLE-HS patients" compared to the entire series.