SynthesisJournal of neurology2023
Epileptogenicity of white matter lesions in cerebral small vessel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinically reported covert cerebrovascular disease and risk of neurological disease: a whole-population cohort of 367 988 people using natural language processing.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2026Article
- Stroke and its consequences: protocol and pilot data of the observational Berlin Long-term Observation of Vascular Events (BeLOVE) stroke stratum.BMJ neurology open · 2026Article
- Associations of Late-Onset Epilepsy With Myocardial Infarction and Nonstroke Vascular Death.Neurology · 2025Article
- Prospective neuroimaging and neuropsychological evaluation in adults with newly diagnosed focal epilepsy.Epilepsia · 2025Article
- The impact of white matter lesions on seizure recurrence after first epileptic seizures in the elderly: a prospective study.Neurological research and practice · 2025Article
- Mechanistic insights into the sleep-glymphopathy-cerebral small vessel disease loop: implications for epilepsy pathophysiology and therapy.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Presumed aetiologies and clinical outcomes of non-lesional late-onset epilepsy.European journal of neurology · 2024Article
- Microangiopathy in temporal lobe epilepsy with diffusion MRI alterations and cognitive decline.Acta neuropathologica · 2024Article
- Seizing the Connection: Exploring the Interplay Between Epilepsy and Glycemic Control in Diabetes Management.Cureus · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe epileptogenic properties of white matter lesions (WML) in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) are not yet understood. The aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the association between the extent of WML in CSVD and epilepsy, analyze whether these WML are associated with an increased risk of seizure recurrence, and evaluate if treatment with anti-seizure medication (ASM) is justified in first-seizure patients with WML and no cortical lesions.
methodsFollowing a pre-registered study protocol (PROSPERO-ID CRD42023390665), we systematically searched Pubmed and Embase for relevant literature comparing WML load between patients with epilepsy and controls as well as studies on seizure recurrence risk and ASM therapy in the presence vs. absence of WML. We calculated pooled estimates using a random effects model.
resultsEleven studies comprising 2983 patients were included in our study. Presence of WML (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.38-3.33) and presence of relevant WML as assessed by visual rating scales (OR 3.96, 95% CI 2.55-6.16) but not WML volume (OR 1.30, 95% CI 0.91-1.85) were significantly associated with seizures. These results stayed robust in sensitivity analyses restricted to studies on patients with late-onset seizures/epilepsy. Only two studies assessed the association between WML and risk of seizure recurrence with conflicting results. Currently, there are no studies on the efficacy of ASM therapy in the presence of WML in CSVD.
conclusionsThis meta-analysis suggests an association between presence of WML in CSVD and seizures. More research is needed addressing the association between WML and risk of seizure recurrence and ASM therapy focusing on a population of patients with a first unprovoked seizure.
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