Cognitive impairment in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

Abstract

Background. Сognitive impairment is one of the major epilepsy-related comorbidities. Upon long-term disease course, a decline in cognitive functions occurs in about 70–80% of cases. Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is one of the most common forms of epilepsy (about 9.3%). Compared with other forms of idiopathic generalized epilepsy, JME is featured with high risk of seizures along with lowered patient compliance to treatment as well as a danger of developing drug resistance that may be a cause of cognitive disorder.Objective: to review research publications on cognitive impairment in JME, discuss its putative causes, describe neuropsychological profile for JME patients.Material and methods. The search was carried out in eLibrary, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Google Scholar databases using keywords and their combinations: “cognitive impairment”, “cognitive disorder”, “cognitive functions”, “neuropsychology”, “epilepsy”, “juvenile myoclonic epilepsy”, “JME”, “idiopathic generalized epilepsy”, “antiepileptic drugs”. We analyzed the articles published over the past 5 years and some earlier works of significant scientific interest. All articles were published in English or Russian languages.Results. A total of 895 articles were found in databases. Comprehensive screening, evaluation of full-text articles eligibility in accordance with the criteria for selecting and deleting duplicates allowed to include 3 scientific publications in Russian and 67 scientific publications in English in the literature review. The main causes of cognitive impairment in JME patients were analyzed followed by describing relevant neuropsychological profile. Diagnostic tools and current opportunities for correction of cognitive disfunctions were considered as well.Conclusion. The underlying causes of cognitive impairment in JME patients are multifactorial in nature and require further research. However, in this patient cohort prominent obstacles remain in identifying and timely correcting such disorders. Approving uniform diagnostic and therapeutic standards, developing rehabilitation methods for cognitive impairment in epilepsy will help improve the quality of life in JME patients.