Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: a study in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

We studied 50 patients in Saudi Arabia with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). There was a high positive family history of epilepsy (48.7%) and a high prevalence (10.7%) of other forms of epilepsy. JME was unrecognized at the time of referral for all patients. Age at onset varied from 6 to 28 years with an average of 15.5 years. Treatment was effective with valproate or with clonazepam; 42 patients were seizure-free for a minimum of 6 months of follow-up. EEG abnormalities were recorded in 37 patients; photoconvulsive responses were elicited in 15 patients but only 1 was clinically photosensitive.