Assessment of Metabolic Disturbances and Their Effects on Epilepsy Outcome in Patients with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy

Background: Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is a common epilepsy syndrome that is classified as one of the idiopathic generalized epilepsies. The relationship between obesity and epilepsy is a rich and interesting area for research. There are potential reasons to consider that patients with epilepsy have a higher risk of developing obesity than the general population.

Objectives: To assess the possible causes of metabolic disturbances in patients with JME and the relationship between these disturbances and epilepsy outcome.

Methods: A case control study was conducted on 50 patients with JME divided into 2 groups: obese and non-obese. All patients were subjected to detailed medical and neurological history taking, complete general and neurological examinations, anthropometric measurements, laboratory investigations including serum insulin and adiponectin levels and Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for the liver.

Results: Median serum insulin and HOMA IR were higher among obese cases than non-obese

cases. serum Adiponectin levels were found to be relatively low in both groups. There was a statistically significant difference of Steatosis according to lipid peak between obese and non- obese groups with higher score detected among obese cases.

Conclusion: Obesity and related metabolic disturbances in children with JME are a particularly

concerning topic which emphasises the importance of early diagnosis of obesity and individualized tailored treatment plan for every patient with JME