Clinical and Electrophysiological Features Predicting Response to Antiseizure Medications in Juvenile Absence...

We aimed to evaluate the clinical findings and electroencephalographic (EEG) characteristics of patients with juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE) and to determine the factors that predict response to antiseizure medications (ASMs) in JAE.

We reviewed the medical records of 29 patients with JAE. The patients who were seizure-free during the last 12 months of their follow-up and who did not have generalized spike waves on their last EEG were considered as the treatment-responsive group, and the patients whose clinical seizures persisted during the last 12 months of their follow-up or who had generalized spike waves on their follow-up EEGs were considered as patients who did not respond to ASMs.

There were 29 patients, 20 girls and nine boys, with a mean age of 13.34 ± 2.17 years and a follow-up time of 32.1 ± 11.9 months. Twenty-two cases (75.8%) were evaluated as responsive to treatment. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) were statistically more common in patients who did not respond to ASM. Epileptic seizures began at a younger age in the group that responded to medication. Occipital intermittent rhythmic delta activity (OIRDA) in EEG was significantly higher in the group that responded to the medication.

Our study shows that concomitant GTCS may predict poorer response to ASMs in JAE. Younger age at diagnosis and OIRDA on EEG may be associated with better response to treatment. Our findings need to be confirmed by further prospective and long-term studies.