Percepción de memoria y calidad de vida en pacientes con epilepsia del lóbulo temporal con y sin tratamiento quirúrgico

Memory perception and quality of life in temporal lobe epilepsy patients with and without surgical treatment Objective: To evaluate the relationship between memory perception and quality of life in temporal lobe epilepsy patients with and without surgical treatment. Methods: A descriptive, retrospective and longitudinal study was carried out in 33 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy attended in International Center for Neurological Restoration, from January 2008 to January 2015 (range age: 20 to 54 years old). The sample was divided into two groups: with surgical treatment (20) and without it (13). We evaluate the memory perception and quality of life by means of the Efficiency Memory Questionnaire (EMQ) and the Quality of Life Scale (QOLI-31) respectively. Parametric statistics were used for analysis of the data (Pearson's correlations Test; T-test, p<0.05). Results: Patients without surgical treatment showed more memory complaint than patients with resection of epileptic area. There were significant differences between groups regarding to auto-perception of memory problems area of EMQ (T-test, p<0.05). Six dimensions of the QOLI-31 also showed significant differences between groups, with a better perception in quality of life in the surgical treated one. There was a statistically significant relationship between memory perception and quality of life in both groups of patients (Pearson's correlations Test, p<0.05). The group under surgical treatment showed an additional relationship of memory perception with seizure worries and antiepileptic drugs effects. Conclusions: The surgical treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy patients improves their perception of memory function, leading to a better quality of life.