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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Inducing Post-Traumatic Epilepsy in a Mouse Model of Repetitive Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: February 10, 2020
Drug withdrawal after successful epilepsy surgery: how safe is it?
Frank Kerling1, Elisabeth Pauli, Bogdan Lorber
1Epilepsy Center (ZEE), Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Erlangen, Schwabachanlage 6, Erlangen, Germany. frank.kerling@uk-erlangen.de
Abstract:
Discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is one reason patients undergo epilepsy surgery, but little is known about the risk of seizure recurrence. We describe a prospective pilot study of withdrawal performed at our epilepsy center. Sixty completely seizure-free patients were included between 1997 and 2003. AED withdrawal was proposed 1 year after surgery after a detailed discussion of the risks and benefits. On the basis of their decision on withdrawal, patients were stratified into two cohorts (withdrawal group, N=34; control group, N=26). Discontinuation was carried out in small tapering steps over 1 year with yearly follow-up visits. Withdrawal was stopped when seizures recurred or the patients objected to further discontinuation. Twenty-six of 34 (76.5%) persons in the withdrawal group and 16 of 26 (61.5%) persons in the control group were seizure free 5 years after surgery. In this study, AED discontinuation 1 year after successful epilepsy surgery was not associated with a risk of seizure recurrence higher than that of controls.
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