Evaluation of the Effect of Anti-seizure Drugs on Cognition in Patients with Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy by Digital Neuropsychological Test

Abstract

Objective:Cognitive impairment in patients with epilepsy appears as epileptic seizures or side effects of anti-seizure drugs (ASD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the cognitive functions of idiopathic generalized/genetic epilepsy (IGE) patients with digital neuropsychological tests (DNT) and to reveal whether there are differences in test batteries in patients using ASD with monotherapy or polytherapy.Methods:Thirty-nine individuals diagnosed with IGE syndrome in our clinic, who were diagnosed with IGE in the last decade and had completed at least eight years of education, were included in the study. After the Standardized Mini-Mental Test and Beck Depression Inventory, for neurocognitive evaluation, TestMyBrain (TMB) Number Range, TMB Selective Response Speed Test, TMB Visual Association Pairs Test, TMB Matrix Reasoning and TMB Number Symbol Matching Tests of TMB DNT Battery were applied to all participants.Results:Among the test categories in the current test battery that measure cognitive functionality in the areas of attention, short-term memory, working memory, visual memory, episodic memory, cognitive processing speed, selective response/inhibition, fluent cognitive skills and perceptual reasoning were applied to the patients and no significant difference was found between the groups receiving monotherapy or polytherapy (p<0.05).Conclusion:It was concluded that the performance status of IGE patients in the sub-category tests included in the TMB DNT Battery and evaluated according to visual material was independent of the number of drugs, but this situation could not be independent of education.

Keywords

• digital neuropsychology
• idiopathic generalized epilepsy
• cognitive functions