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Hypoglycemic seizures and epilepsy in type I diabetes mellitus
Mercè Falip1, Júlia Miró1, Mar Carreño2
1Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
Purpose:
(1) To determine the characteristics of seizures and/or epilepsy among patients with adult onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and (2) to determine glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody (antiGADab) titres and other autoimmune characteristics of T1DM patients with seizure and/or epilepsy.
Methods:
Patients were recruited after reviewing the databases of one Diabetes Unit and two Epilepsy Units. Prevalence of suffering epilepsy and/or seizures was calculated in the group of adult onset T1DM patients seen consecutively in the Diabetes Unit. Serum antiGADab titres were determined in all patients.
Results:
Among the 229 T1DM patients, two had suffered hypoglycemic seizures (0.87%) and two unprovoked seizures (0.87%). We recruited 11 of these T1DM patients. Five reported only hypoglycemic seizures, and 6 temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Mean antiGADab titres in patients with T1DM and hypoglycemic seizures were lower (18.42 IU) than in those with T1DM and TLE (29.200 IU), p: 0.006. Patients with T1DM and TLE suffered more other autoimmune diseases than those with T1DM and hypoglycemic seizures, p: 0.015.
Conclusions:
Hypoglycemic seizures are rare in T1DM patients. AntiGADab titres do not differ from the general diabetic population. Patients with high titres of antiGADab are more likely to develop TLE.
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