Cognitive function in Nigerians with newly diagnosed epilepsy

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the pattern of cognitive disturbances in Nigerian Africans with newly diagnosed epilepsy, prior to onset of drug therapy. METHODS: A total of 60 consecutive patients (mean age 31.6 +/- 17.4, range 14-55 years) presenting with a clinical diagnosis of epilepsy were recruited for the study. Sixty healthy volunteers without a history of epilepsy and who were age-, sex- and level of education matched with the epileptic patients, were recruited as controls. The administration of cognitive tests was done with the FePsy computerized neuropsychological test battery. The tests administered were the visual and auditory reaction times, the continuous performance test and the recognition memory tests to assess mental speed, attention and memory respectively. The means of the cognitive performances of the epileptic patients and controls were statistically compared. RESULTS: Epileptic patients performed worse than the controls across the spectrum of cognitive tasks assessed (P = 0.00001; P < 0.025), with the exception of the beta parameter (response bias) of the vigilance test (P = 0.488; P > 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: The cognitive impairments of short-term memory, psychomotor speed and sustained attention observed in this study are similar to those reported in the literature for patients with epilepsy. The results of this study will be useful in the counseling of patients on their educational, social and vocational needs.