Quality Of Life And Auditory Event-related Potentials(P₃₀₀) In Adult Epilepsy

Objective: This study was designed to assess quality of life in adult epilepsy with itsphysical, social, psychological functioning aspects. Also to assess their mooddisorder, the impact of factors contributing to the QOLIE, and to look for thedeterminant factors. Meanwhile, we undertook this study to survey cognitivefunction in adult epileptic patients by auditory event-related potentials (ERPs).Methods:A series of previously validated generic and disease-specific instruments wasselected to survey the QOLIE. We took the idiopathetic epileptic patients as thetrials and sex, age, education matched general people as the controls. Moodstatus was all assessed. Several factors contribute to QOLIE were evaluated.Data of auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) was gathered simultaneouslyand factors causing their cognitive dysfunction were investigated. Thecorrelation between the ERPs and self-report cognitive function by QOLIEinstruments was assessed.Results:1. On psychological aspect and mood status epilepsy both scoredsignificantly worse than controls. Patients with 3-10years duration obtainedworst scores. Partial seizure was better than mixed type of seizure. Patients whoseizure free for 3 months and having less than 1 seizure per month scored nodifference in QOL instrument compare with the controls, although their moodscores were still worse. Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) did harm to the physical andsocial aspect of QOL as well as mood. Self-reported overall quality of life was poorer 4in patients with minor and major depression. Anxiety was significantlycorrelated with seizure worry and also impair to many aspects of QOLIE.Factors determine the overall quality of life were depression, anxiety, drugsthrough multiple regression.2. There were on significant differences in amplitude between the patientsand the controls, but the latencies of P2,N2,P3 were significantly longer inpatients than the controls. Patients with longer duration have longer latencies inN1 component. And longer duration was also proved to prolong the P3 latencythough logistic regression. Depression would cause the P3 latency prolongationwhile anxiety caused some increase in N1,P2,P3 amplitude. In some degree, theself-report cognitive function by QOLIE instruments was paralleled with thechange of ERPs.Conclusion:1. Epilepsy patients were worse in quality of life on psychological aspect andmood status. Factors determine the overall quality of life were depression,anxiety, drugs.2. The latencies of P2,N2,P3 were significantly longer in epilepsy patients,which indicated the dysfunction both in senior cognitive process and the arousaland concentration. Long duration, depression would damage to the cognitionfunction of epilepsy. AEDs per se might have no effect on the latencies of ERPs.