Irving Fuentes1, Mijail Rivas1, Jimena Gonzalez Salido1, Luis Marin-Castañeda1, Jimena Colado1, Fernando Vasquez Lopez1, Betsy Vazquez1, Eithel Valenzuela Mendivil1, Salvador Martinez-Medina1, Manuel Toledo2, Manuel Quintana2, Laura Abraira2, Elena Fonseca2, Andrea Avalos-Arias1, Aurelio Jara-Prado3, Adriana Ochoa3, Jorge L. Guerrero-Camacho3, Mario A. Sebastián-Díaz4, Iris E. Martínez-Juárez1
1Epilepsy Clinic & Clinical Epileptology Fellowship, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Manuel Velasco Suarez” (NINNMVS) & Faculty of Medicine, UNAM, Mexico City and Clinical Epileptology Fellowship NINNMVS/UNAM, 2Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain., 3Department of Genetics, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery MVS. Mexico City, Mexico., 4Nephrology Department, South Central High Specialty Hospital PEMEX, Mexico City, Mexico.
Objective:
We aim to describe clinical and demographic characteristics of absence seizures in adults.
Background:
Absence seizures are characterized by sudden cessation of activity and awareness, accompanied by generalized spike-and-wave discharges (SWD) on EEG. They commonly present in childhood or adolescence; however, it can persist in adulthood and be drug-resistant.
Design/Methods:
An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study in patients diagnosed with absence seizures between 2023 and 2024 from a Neurology Center in Mexico City (Mexico) and Barcelona (Spain). SPSS® 29 was used for the analysis. Quantitative variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation. Qualitative variables were expressed as frequencies and percentages.
Results:
We included 32 patients, 16 from Mexico City and 16 from Barcelona, of which 21 (65.6%) were female. Mean age of 43.19±13.403 (19-70) and mean age of onset of 13.8 ±6.21( 5-38). Mean months of epilepsy evolution was 29.75±14.02 (0-61). Eight(28.6%) had epilepsy family history. 25 (78.1%) patients had presented tonic-clonic generalized seizures, 16 (50%) myoclonic seizures, 3 (9.4%) palpebral myoclonic seizures, 3 (9.7%) non-epileptic seizures, and 28 (87.5%) more than one seizure type. 25 (78.1%) had MRI, 11 (34.4%) were abnormal; 3 (9.4%) had vascular lesions, 1 (3.1%) cerebellar atrophy, 3(9.4%) cortical atrophy, and 2 (6.3%) arachnoid cyst. Moreover, 12(37.5%) patients presented psychiatric comorbidities, 5 (15.6%) depression, 6(18.8%) anxiety, 2(6.3%) psychosis and 4(12.5%) intellectual disabilities. Mean of antiseizure medications was 2.9 ± 2.5 (0-11), and drug-resistant epilepsy was found in 6 (18.3%) patients. Twenty (62.5%) patients were absence-free, and 21 (65.6%) were free from other types of seizures.
Conclusions:
Epilepsy with absence seizures can continue into adulthood, in this cohort women were more affected, family history was present in one-third of patients and generalized tonic-clonic seizures were present in most patients. Having an abnormal MRI was common and less than 20% of patients were drug-resistant
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