The effects of medical and surgical interventions on quality of life in epilepsy: Focus on frontal lobe epilepsy

This chapter gives special consideration to the issue of quality of life in patients withepilepsy through discussion on aspects of medical and surgical treatment options, withparticular emphasis on the implications of frontal lobe epilepsy. A discussion oftreatment options commences, including a review of the historic and modern antiepileptictherapies. A principal section considers the various types and severity of antiepilepticdrugs (AED) related adverse effects. Amidst general medical effects, symptomsrelated to the central nervous system are most common with AEDs, and the behaviouraland cognitive implications are of particular interest. Medication outcomes represent asmall but significant area impacting on health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) inepilepsy. Discussion of AED efficacy, tolerability and safety fit into wider discussion ofQOL parameters in epilepsy. The use of surgical means to alleviate and eliminateseizures in medically refractory epilepsy also beckons HR-QOL assessments.Psychological and social recovery have been previously used to determine surgicalsuccess in HR-QOL terms. QOL assessments help further understanding of both epilepsyand treatment, as well as providing special insight into the patient's perspective thatranges psychological and social implications, as well as medical outcomes.