A British study claims that people with Covid 19 have an increased risk of epileptic seizures.
The cases are rare. But they are numerous enough to attract the attention of a group of researchers from the University of Oxford in Great Britain. According to their study published on November 16 in the scientific journal Neurology, the Covid would increase the risk of suffering from convulsions or even seizures.epilepsy for several months after theinfection.
To reach this conclusion, Professor Arjune Sen’s team followed more than 150,000 patients infected with coronavirus and flu patients. Both groups were examined for several months. None of the subjects had previously suffered from seizure disorders. 6 months after their remission, observations determined that Covid patients had a 55% higher risk of developing seizures than people affected by the disease. flu.
Children more at risk than adults
The experiment conducted by the British group also highlighted overexposure of patients who were not hospitalized. In addition, children are more prone to these crises than adults. These results led the researchers to alert pediatricians and family doctors to ask them to be even more vigilant with the youngest. “We recommend that healthcare professionals pay particular attention to people who may exhibit more subtle features of seizures, such as focal conscious seizures, where people are alert and aware of what is happening, particularly in the three months following a crisis,” warns Professor Sen.
Low risks
Although Covid 19 increases the risk of seizures, this should not be generalized. The researchers point out that “the incidence of epilepsy or related seizures reaches 0.94% in people with COVID-19 compared to 0.60% in participants who had the flu”. We are therefore below 1% of Covid patients concerned.
This discovery nevertheless makes it possible to improve the support and follow-up of infected people, even though research on the Covid long patina with patients without remedies. Epileptic seizures are thus added to a long list of symptoms among which we find migrainesdigestive disorders, abnormal fatigue or loss of taste and smell.
In France, 6 referral centers and 18 rehabilitation centers work actively to support patients. In Switzerland, the university hospitals of Geneva launched, in mid-November, clinical trials on a new treatment against long-term illnesses. “Temelimab” acts on a protein responsible for neurological problems, produced in excess in patients. Professor and chief physician Idris Guessous projects himself, if the tests are successful ” accelerated market demand could end in late 2023-early 2024 ».
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