Abstract
Epilepsy is a disease characterized by unprovoked epileptic seizures resulting from
a bioelectrical brain dysfunction. Antiepileptic treatment controls 75% of all epileptic
patients; the other 25% continue to have epileptic seizures in spite of a combination
of multiple antiepileptic drugs. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the use
of methylprednisolone in the treatment of children with refractory epilepsy. Fourteen
children with refractory epilepsy at the Hospital de Especialidades No. 25 of the
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Monterrey, Northeast Mexico were included.
For five consecutively days, each patient received methylprednisolone by intravenous
administration at a dosage of 15 mg/kg/day each 8 h, once a month for 3 months. The
frequency of epileptic seizures and possible related side effects were evaluated every
month during the three months before, during, and after administration of methylprednisolone.
The frequency of epileptic seizures was reduced by more than 50% in 12/14 patients
during methylprednisolone treatment. The median number of seizures before treatment
with methylprednisolone was 8, 8, and 7; during the treatment: 1, 1, and 1; and after
treatment: 2, 2, and 3 (p=0.000). We conclude that methylprednisolone reduces the
frequency of epileptic seizures in children with refractory epilepsy.
Key words
epilepsy - refractory epilepsy - methylprednisolone - antiepileptic drugs
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Correspondence
ricardosevilla@hotmail.com
