Newly diagnosed seizures in adolescents: a comparative study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Pediatric Neurology

Background:

• Recurrent seizures in adolescents represent a significant clinical challenge.
• Understanding the specific profiles of newly diagnosed adolescent epilepsy is crucial for effective management.
• Previous studies have focused on younger children or adults, leaving a gap in adolescent-specific data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the clinical, electroencephalographic (EEG), and computed tomography (CT) profiles of adolescents with newly diagnosed recurrent seizures.
• To compare the incidence of adolescent-onset seizures with that of children and adults.

Main Methods:

• Prospective data collection from 14-18 year olds with newly diagnosed recurrent seizures at King Fahd Hospital of the University.
• Inclusion of clinical history, seizure descriptions, physical examination, EEG, and CT scan findings.
• Comparison with existing data from pediatric (≤13 years) and adult (>18 years) populations.

Main Results:

• Twenty-nine adolescents (mean age 15.7 years) were studied; partial seizures (37.9%) and localization-related epilepsy (51.7%) were most frequent.
• Abnormal EEG findings were present in 72.4%, with epileptiform activity noted in 52.4% focal and 42.8% generalized.
• Cranial CT scans were normal in 72.4%, with focal lesions in 6 of the 8 abnormal scans.

Conclusions:

• Partial seizures and localization-related epileptic syndromes are predominant in adolescents.
• The lower frequency of newly diagnosed seizures in adolescents compared to children and adults supports a bimodal distribution of epilepsy onset.
• These findings highlight the distinct epidemiological and clinical characteristics of epilepsy in the adolescent population.