Multicenter Research Data of Epilepsy Management in Patients With Sturge-Weber Syndrome

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Pharmacology

Background:

• Epilepsy is a common complication in Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS).
• Optimal neurological drug treatment strategies for SWS remain incompletely understood.
• This study analyzes drug treatment outcomes in diverse SWS patient groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neurological drug treatment patterns in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome.
• To identify associations between SWS characteristics, demographics, and antiseizure medication use.
• To evaluate treatment outcomes in relation to disease severity and interventions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a large multicenter database of 268 patients with SWS and brain involvement.
• Examination of medication use in relation to demographic factors (sex, ethnicity) and SWS characteristics (brain, skin, eye involvement laterality).
• Comparison of antiseizure medication numbers, age at diagnosis/seizure onset, and SWS neurological scores across patient groups.

Main Results:

• Levetiracetam (48.1%), low-dose aspirin (44.8%), and oxcarbazepine (39.9%) were the most frequently used medications.
• Lamotrigine use was higher in adults than children (P=0.001).
• Bilateral brain involvement, family history of seizures, and early seizure onset correlated with higher antiseizure medication use and phenobarbital use.

Conclusions:

• Levetiracetam, low-dose aspirin, and oxcarbazepine are primary medications for SWS epilepsy.
• Patients with more severe SWS or bilateral brain involvement require more intensive antiseizure medication regimens.
• Epilepsy surgery may enable the discontinuation of antiseizure medications, warranting further longitudinal investigation.