RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of and risk factors for epileptic seizures in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a large cohort series. METHODS: One thousand two hundred patients with SLE were analyzed. The type and frequency of risk factors for seizures associated with SLE were studied and compared with two other series reported in the literature. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-two patients had seizures. Seventy-five patients were studied with a mean follow-up of 5 years from the first seizure episode. Fifty-eight (77%) patients had tonic-clonic seizures, 9 (12%) complex partial seizures (PS), 5 (7%) simple partial motor seizures and 3 (4%) secondary tonic-clonic seizures. In 41 (54%) patients, the seizures occurred within the first year of the SLE diagnosis. Recurrence occurred in 40 (53%) patients, and was associated with PS in 14 (35%; p = 0.006) and time of seizures with SLE onset in 5 (12.5%; p = 0.05). Less than one third of the patients had positive antiphospholipid antibodies. A concurrent infection was present in 16 (21%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Epileptic seizures were more common during the first year after SLE diagnosis. Neither infection nor antiphospholipid syndrome was associated with the occurrence of seizures.
