COVID-19 and epilepsy: Russian and international experience

Abstract

This article reviews the issues of epilepsy course in patients with COVID-19 and predictors of the worsening of the course of the disease in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Risk of seizures associated with COVID-19 is relatively low both in patients with epilepsy and in general population, with the exception of critically and terminally ill patients. Studies that evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the condition of patients with epilepsy are characterized by complex medical, social and pathophysiological approaches to the problem. Predictors of negative epilepsy dynamics in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic include drug interactions between antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and drugs used to treat COVID-19; disruption of AEDs supply; stress in patients; comorbid somatic pathology.