Prognostic factors for the development of drug-resistant epilepsy

Drug resistant epilepsy is a top priority social health problem which requires early individual treatment due to its dramatic repercussions for the patient and society As a consequence of the crises these patients present a worse quality of life so their diagnosis is essential to establish possible therapeutic alternatives The identification of the factors associated with drug resistance can predict in a certain way whether a patient will have epilepsy resistant to drugs in the short and long term A number of factors contributing to a poorer prognosis has been identified and described For patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy the principal factors were the time interval between index seizure and AED start that only influences the short term outcome Also a number of seizures in the first year after AED start is associated with both short and long term outcomes In conclusion the long term prognosis of newly diagnosed epilepsy patients is in keeping with published reports But it is necessary investigate more specifically each factors independent and future studies should be developed