Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: a clinical, epidemiological, therapeutic and quality of life studyINTRODUCTION: The Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) is an idiopathic generalized epilepsy that, despite being descripted for more than a century, it is still a clinical entity often misdiagnosed. OBJECTIVE: Introduce the clinical, epidemiological and therapeutic profile of patients with JME, addition to measuring the quality of their life. METHODOLOGY: Nineteen patients carrying JME were evaluated. They had been examinated at the Federal University of Alagoas' Academic Hospital, with the Clinical Enquiry Protocol and the QOLIE-31 (Quality of life in epilepsy), Brasilian version. RESULTS: Among the 19 selected patients, 63% were female; the average age for the first seizure was twelve years (±3); the epilepsy familiar history were positive in 78,9% of the patients; all patients presented myoclonic seizures with matinal predominance associated to generalized tonic-clonic seizures; 14 patients (73,7%) were in monotherapy, 13 of these with sodium valproate. The "Overall score" of QOLIE-31 range from 26 to 98, with an average score of 62,1 (±18,4) and T-score (standardized score) corresponding 47. CONCLUSION: The analysis helps considerably in the best characterization of this group of patients and quantifies for the first time, through validated instrument, the quality of life of them, which can no longer be ignored in their management.
Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy; quality of life; QOLIE-31
