Two-year Prospective Study of Seizure Recurrence in Newly Diagnosed Partial Epilepsy: Can MRI Predict the Recurrence of Seizure?

Background: It has been known that several factors are associated with seizure recurrence. We performed this study to determine whether an MRI can independently predict seizure recurrence in newly diagnosed partial epilepsy. Methods: We found 91 newly diagnosed partial epilepsy patients with whom we prospectively followed up for at least 2 years. Variables for statistical analysis were cumulative recurrence rates according to MRI findings as well as age of onset, etiology and epilepsy syndrome. We divided MRI findings into paired groups of normal and abnormal groups, age of onset into 27 years and 28 years groups, etiology into symptomatic and cryptogenic groups and epilepsy syndrome into temporal lobe epilepsy and extratemporal lobe epilepsy groups respectively. Results: The seizure recurrence rate was 24% at 1 year and 36% at 2 years follow-up. Among prognostic variables, the epilepsy syndrome, etiology and MRI findings could significantly predict the seizure recurrence at 2 years but age of onset could not predict recurrence at 2 years follow-up. Univariate analysis showed the odds ratio of the seizure recurrence as follows: temporal lobe epilepsy was 1.91 (95%CI 0.894.12), symptomatic etiology was 2.27 (95%CI 1.134.57), abnormal MRI finding was 0.28 (1.405.60). Multivariate analyses showed that only abnormal MRI findings could independently predict the seizure recurrence. Conclusions: We concluded that abnormal MRI finding can independently predict seizure recurrence at 2 years follow-up.