POSTTRAUMATIC EPILEPSY AT A GENERAL HOSPITAL IN CROATIA: TWENTY-YEAR FOLLOW UP

Aim: The aim of the study was to demonstrate that therapy with new generation antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) leads to faster remission of posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) as compared with therapy complex partial epilepsy od temporal lobe origin. Methods: The study conducted during the 1988-2008 period included 113 PTE patients (47 female and 67 male) and 113 patients (93 female and 20 male) suffering from complex partial seizures of temporal lobe origin as control group. In both groups, epileptic seizure phenotype, brain magnetic resonance imaging (1.5 T and 3.0 T) and electroencephalogram were analyzed within 24 hours of epileptic seizure and after 5 years of treatment. Psychological testing was administered prior to therapy initiation. Results: The patients treated with conventional AEDs achieved remission in 73% of cases as compared with 77% of patients administered new generation AEDs; in the latter, remission was achieved faster (1.85 vs . 1.6 months). In patients group with complex partial epilepsy was not significant difference between new and conventional AEDs. Psychiatric comorbidity prolonged time to remission by 3.4 months in both patient groups. Conclusion: Therapy with new generation AEDs enables achieving faster and complete remission in PTE patients. Key words: epilepsy, etiology, traumatic brain injury, therapy, prognosis