Diabetic hyperglycemia is associated with the severity of epileptic seizures in adults

Summary:

In this article, the authors observe the effects that diabetic hyperglycemic state has on epileptic seizures and their severity. The study included adult patients above the age of 18 years with new onset seizures that were admitted from the time period of 2000 to 2004. These patients were then divided into patients that were hyperglycemic and nonhyperglycemic groups. The study excluded patients that had history of seizures in childhood or adolescents or if the seizures were brought on by stroke, electrolyte abnormalities, brain injury, metastatic brain tumor, CNS infections, hepatic encephalopathy, or brain surgery. Patients that had a blood glucose of 450 mg/dl were also excluded from the study. This study included 214 newly diagnosed adult seizure patients and 69 of those were found to be associated with hyperglycemia while 145 patients with seizures were not due to hyperglycemic state. It was found that in the diabetic hyperglycemic group simple partial seizures with or without secondary generalization were the most common type while in the non diabetic hyperglycemic group complex partial seizures were the most common. It was also found that seizure clustering at initial presentation and in recurrence was more common in the diabetic hyperglycemic group. Additionally, patients with poor glycemic control were found to have a statistically significant higher risk of seizure recurrence. Based on these findings it was found that patients with new epileptic seizures with diabetes should have aggressive glycemic control and seizure management.

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