Seizure in Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: There is a broad variation in reported frequencies of seizure in multiple sclerosis (MS). In this study, the seizure and its characteristics analyzed among a large group of patients with MS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of all definite MS patients referred to the MS Clinic of Kashani hospital, Isfahan, Iran, between 2007 and 2011. RESULTS: Altogether, 34 cases with seizure activity identified among the 920 definite MS subjects (3.69%). Five excluded due to the other probable etiologies rather than MS. In the remained 29 patients (3.15%), the type of seizure was mostly generalized (79.3%); interictal electroencephalography showed an abnormal pattern in 84.6%, brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed subcortical white mater lesions in 84.6% of patients. The mean duration of MS onsets was 8.17 years and the mean interval between MS onset and the first seizure occurrence was 3.7 years. In general, response to antiepileptic treatment was excellent. CONCLUSION: Seizures can occur at any stage during the course of MS, but it is more common during the early stages.