Prevalence, clinical characteristics, and seizure outcomes of epilepsy due to calcific clinical stage of neurocysticercosis: Study in a rural community in south India

Abstract

ObjectiveThe objective of this research was to study the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and seizure remission rates of epilepsy due to calcific stage of neurocysticercosis (cNCC) in a rural community in south India. Material and methodsComprehensive Rural Epilepsy Study South India (CRESSI) is a prospective longitudinal study of epilepsy care in a rural community in south India. As part of this study, prevalence of epilepsy was studied in a population of 74,086 in 22 villages. The prevalence study identified 451 people with epilepsy including 62 (13.7%) with epilepsy due to cNCC. Diagnosis of cNCC was based on computed tomography (CT) findings. The clinical characteristics and seizure outcomes were studied in this cohort of 62 patients. The data collected included demographics, seizure type, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), seizure remission rates, and predictors of long-term seizure remissions. ResultsThe crude prevalence of epilepsy due to cNCC in this rural community was 0.84 per 1000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65–1.07). This lesion accounted for 41% of the established etiology among 451 prevalence cases of epilepsy. Mean age at presentation was 28.87 ± 14.45 (range: 8–65 years) with equal gender distribution. The common location of the lesion was in the perirolandic region. Focal onset motor seizures were the common seizure type. Seizure remission (≥2 years) rate was 80.3%. The independent predictor of drug resistance was failure to respond to monotherapy (odds ratio: 63.9; 95% CI: 8.4–485.4; p < 0.0001). Focal impaired awareness behavioral arrest/automatisms with lesion located in the temporal lobe in all the three patients were drug-resistant. ConclusionsIn this rural community in south India, epilepsy due to cNCC was the commonest acquired epilepsy in people aged ≥20 years. Long-term seizure remission rates were high, and failure to respond to monotherapy was the predictor of drug resistance. Drug-resistant epilepsy was extremely rare with this lesion.