Rylie Behr shares her story

Pregnancy and Seizures

In the May issue of the journal, Epilepsia, Doctors Thomas and colleagues from the department of Neurology at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Trivandrum, India, reported results of a study that aimed to assess when seizures are likely to occur in women who have epilepsy and what are some of the factors that help to predict if seizures are likely to occur. Using the Kerala Registry of Epilepsy and Pregnancy, which is a registry of patients with epilepsy who became pregnant, the study profiled 1297 pregnancies in women with epilepsy who had complete records. The specific aim of the studies was to establish the timing of when seizures were most likely to occur and what were those predictors during pregnancy.

Drawing from the data…

The investigators found from the registry samples that 47.8% were seizure free during their pregnancy. The seizure relapse of the individuals who had seizures was highest during the three days in and around the actual delivery of the baby. Women with seizures that were of partial onset had a higher risk of relapse than those who had generalized seizures. There were two peaks at which seizures were likely to occur:

1. The second to third month and;
2. The sixth month of pregnancy in women who had partial epilepsy.

And some other findings…

1. Patients who had generalized seizures had one peak at which seizures were most likely to occur and that was within the first trimester;
2. Those who were on more than one drug had an increased risk of seizures as compared to those who were on just one seizure medication and;
3. Those who had seizures in the month prior to pregnancy had a higher risk of seizures during pregnancy as compared to those who were seizure free during that period.

Which means…

When looking at the various factors in terms of predicting seizures, it appears that pre-pregnancy seizures is the most important predictor as to whether a woman will have seizures during her pregnancy.

The importance of this is that although much is written about predicting what are the effects of exposure to seizure drugs in women who are pregnant, this study helps to look at the timing of seizures during pregnancy and to identify those pregnant women who are most at risk for seizures.

This is interesting why?

It illustrates the importance of a pregnancy registry and the useful information that can be obtained from it which can help better guide health standards and access to healthcare. This study also could be utilized if replicated to at least look for closer observation for those women who have pre-pregnancy seizures immediately before their pregnancy so that better evaluation of their drug levels can be done in order to prevent seizure during pregnancy.

by Joseph I. Sirven, MD
Editor-in-Chief, epilepsy.com
Last Reviewed: 6/20/2012

ΠΗΓΗ http://www.epilepsy.com/newsletter/jun12/seizures_in_pregnant_women?utm_source=Epilepsy+Therapy+Project&utm_campaign=102c9910d6-Epilepsy_News_6_20_12&utm_medium=email

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Καλημέρα Φίλοι μου,

Σήμερα λοιπόν που λέτε, το πρωί είχα δύο γενικευμένες κρίσεις, αλλά πολύ ελαφριάς μορφής. Δεν είχα χάσει τις αισθήσεις μου και διάρκησε το πολύ 2 δευτερόλεπτα. Αυτό που μου την σπάει είναι ότι ιδρώνουν τα χέρια και πόδια μου. Ίσως να φταίει που μου άλλαξε τα φάρμακα ο γιατρός. Έχω ραντεβού να ξαναπάει στις 12/06/2012, για να δούμε έως τότε τι θα γίνει .....