Occurrence of Epileptic Complications in Patients with Cerebrovascular Disease in Charge to the Home Care Center: A Clinical Experience

Abstract

Most studies in literature about the occurrence of the so-called vascular epilepsy suggest that this complication is an episodic and relatively rare event mostly due to clinical conditions related to haemorrhagic ictus while chronic vascular disease (multifocal vascular encephalopathy, vasculopathy with lacunar infarcts or minor stroke and ischemic strokes) is not usually considered as risk factors for the onset of secondary epilepsy. Furthermore, the epilepsy of the elderly is often ascribed to the atrophy of the brain tissues linked to both age and chronic hypoxia induced by Atherosclerosis (ATS) or a complication of pharmacological therapies in the elderly (anticholinesterases, neuroleptics, anticoagulants). In fact, in our clinical and practical experience in the district outpatients clinic and home care center, numerous clinical cases have been subject to diagnosis and treatment of late epilepsy following an ischemic stroke. In this study we had thepurpose to describe our experience of occurrence of epileptic complications in patients with morewide Cerebrovascular Disease (CVD) patterns. We studied a group of 15 patients (8 Male and 7 Female) affected by CVD and by recent recently onset epilepsy. Our study found that Cerebrovascular disease CVD constitutes a significant risk factor for secondary epilepsy in the groups with elder age even though younger subjects can be involved after being affected by relevant cerebrovascular events. In opposition to the opinion assumed in common clinical practice an important part of these causal events are ischemic and non-haemorrhagic as previously known.