Intractable epilepsy does not always remain intractable. First, one of the treatments listed above may prove effective. Second, individuals may be able to modify precipitating factors or their lifestyle to help to control the seizures. But even in the absence of specific therapies or life changes, there is hope for improvement. Jacqueline French and associates (16) studied 246 patients from their clinic with at least one seizure per month and inadequate relief from at least two antiepileptic drugs. Over a three-year follow-up period, 5% of these patients each year became seizure-free for at least six months. Unfavorable predictors of control were chronic cognitive delay, long history of intractable seizures and previous status epilepticus.

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Topic Editor: Robert S. Fisher, MD, PhD
Last Reviewed: April 21, 2009