{"title":"Post-pregnancy changes in seizure frequency and antiseizure medication treatment","authors":"Revital Gandelman-Marton , Jacques Theitler","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2025.107595","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Maternal seizures during the post-pregnancy period are associated with severe morbidity and increased risk of mortality, and pose a risk of injury to their babies, that may be sometimes life threatening.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>To evaluate whether seizure frequency during post-pregnancy is higher compared to the pre-pregnancy period and to nonpregnant women with epilepsy.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively reviewed the computerized database and the medical records of all the women with epilepsy who were followed-up in our adult epilepsy clinic during an 8-year period (2012–2020), and identified 42 pregnancies in 34 women. The control group included 42 nonpregnant women with epilepsy, matched for age and epilepsy type.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Mean monthly seizure frequency, seizure freedom rates and changes of seizure frequency during pregnancy and post-pregnancy did not significantly differ between pregnant women and controls. Among pregnant women there was a trend towards decreased seizure frequency during post-pregnancy (p = 0.076). Pregnant women received fewer antiseizure medications (ASMs) during pregnancy (1.3 vs 2) (p = 0.004) and post-pregnancy (1.4 vs 1.9) (p = 0.023) compared to controls, with a trend towards fewer ASMs during pre-pregnancy (p = 0.051). Compared to controls, changes of ASM treatment were more common in pregnant women during post-pregnancy (57.1 % vs 33.3 %) (p = 0.048), with a trend towards more common ASM changes during pregnancy (p = 0.073).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Seizure frequency during post-pregnancy in women with epilepsy who are managed according to the guidelines did not significantly differ in this cohort from that during pre-pregnancy and during the same epoch in nonpregnant women with epilepsy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 107595"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Epilepsy Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920121125000968","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Maternal seizures during the post-pregnancy period are associated with severe morbidity and increased risk of mortality, and pose a risk of injury to their babies, that may be sometimes life threatening.
Objectives
To evaluate whether seizure frequency during post-pregnancy is higher compared to the pre-pregnancy period and to nonpregnant women with epilepsy.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the computerized database and the medical records of all the women with epilepsy who were followed-up in our adult epilepsy clinic during an 8-year period (2012–2020), and identified 42 pregnancies in 34 women. The control group included 42 nonpregnant women with epilepsy, matched for age and epilepsy type.
Results
Mean monthly seizure frequency, seizure freedom rates and changes of seizure frequency during pregnancy and post-pregnancy did not significantly differ between pregnant women and controls. Among pregnant women there was a trend towards decreased seizure frequency during post-pregnancy (p = 0.076). Pregnant women received fewer antiseizure medications (ASMs) during pregnancy (1.3 vs 2) (p = 0.004) and post-pregnancy (1.4 vs 1.9) (p = 0.023) compared to controls, with a trend towards fewer ASMs during pre-pregnancy (p = 0.051). Compared to controls, changes of ASM treatment were more common in pregnant women during post-pregnancy (57.1 % vs 33.3 %) (p = 0.048), with a trend towards more common ASM changes during pregnancy (p = 0.073).
Conclusions
Seizure frequency during post-pregnancy in women with epilepsy who are managed according to the guidelines did not significantly differ in this cohort from that during pre-pregnancy and during the same epoch in nonpregnant women with epilepsy.
期刊介绍:
Epilepsy Research provides for publication of high quality articles in both basic and clinical epilepsy research, with a special emphasis on translational research that ultimately relates to epilepsy as a human condition. The journal is intended to provide a forum for reporting the best and most rigorous epilepsy research from all disciplines ranging from biophysics and molecular biology to epidemiological and psychosocial research. As such the journal will publish original papers relevant to epilepsy from any scientific discipline and also studies of a multidisciplinary nature. Clinical and experimental research papers adopting fresh conceptual approaches to the study of epilepsy and its treatment are encouraged. The overriding criteria for publication are novelty, significant clinical or experimental relevance, and interest to a multidisciplinary audience in the broad arena of epilepsy. Review articles focused on any topic of epilepsy research will also be considered, but only if they present an exceptionally clear synthesis of current knowledge and future directions of a research area, based on a critical assessment of the available data or on hypotheses that are likely to stimulate more critical thinking and further advances in an area of epilepsy research.