Abstract: Individuals who contracted COVID-19 are considerably extra more likely to develop epilepsy or expertise a seizure inside 6 months of an infection than those that contracted influenza.
Supply: AAN
Individuals who have a COVID-19 an infection usually tend to develop seizures or epilepsy inside the subsequent six months than individuals who have an influenza an infection, in response to a research revealed within the November 16, 2022, on-line difficulty of Neurology.
The elevated danger was extra noticeable in youngsters than adults. It was additionally extra noticeable in individuals who didn’t want hospitalization for COVID-19 infections.
“Whereas the general danger of growing seizures or epilepsy was low—lower than 1% of all individuals with COVID-19, given the big quantity of people that have been contaminated with COVID-19, this might end in will increase within the variety of individuals with seizures and epilepsy,” mentioned research creator Arjune Sen, MD, Ph.D., of the College of Oxford in England.
“As well as, the elevated danger of seizures and epilepsy in youngsters provides us one more reason to attempt to stop COVID-19 infections in youngsters.”
For the research, researchers checked out a well being information community for individuals with COVID-19 infections. They have been matched to individuals who have been recognized with influenza throughout the identical time interval and who have been related in age, intercourse and different components, akin to different medical situations.
Not one of the individuals had beforehand been recognized with epilepsy or recurrent seizures. The researchers then appeared to see whether or not individuals developed epilepsy or seizures within the following six months.
There have been 152,754 individuals in every of the COVID-19 and influenza teams.
Individuals who had COVID-19 have been 55% extra more likely to develop epilepsy or seizures over the following six months than individuals who had influenza. The speed of recent instances of epilepsy or seizures was 0.94% within the individuals who had COVID-19, in comparison with 0.60% in those that had influenza.
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“Folks ought to interpret these outcomes cautiously because the general danger is low,” Sen mentioned. “We do, nevertheless, advocate that well being care professionals pay specific consideration to people who could have extra refined options of seizures, akin to focal conscious seizures, the place persons are alert and conscious of what’s going on, particularly within the three months following a much less extreme COVID-19 an infection.”
A limitation of the research was that researchers have been unable to determine which particular virus variants individuals have been contaminated with, which may have influenced outcomes.
About this epilepsy and COVID-19 analysis information
Creator: Press Workplace
Supply: AAN
Contact: Press Workplace – AAN
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Unique Analysis: The findings will seem in Neurology