Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disorders and different types of stroke. The present retrospective study investigates whether COPD is also a risk factor for the development of seizures in stroke patients. The study population consisted of 237 patients with stroke-related seizures. The control population was composed of 939 patients, admitted for a stroke between 2002 and 2004 and who did not develop epileptic spells on a follow up of 2 years. The stroke type and aetiology, and the vascular risk factors, including COPD, were compared. The seizure patients were older (P = 0.009) and had more arterial hypertension (P = 0.046) and cardiac-embolic strokes (P = 0.045) than the control group. On logistic regression only partial anterior circulation syndrome/infarct (PACS/I) and COPD (P < 0.001) emerged as independent risk factors for the development of seizures in stroke patients. The occurrence of seizures was not related to the severity of the COPD or to its type of treatment. The present study confirms that seizures occur most frequently in patients with a PACS/I. Although we were unable to demonstrate why COPD is a risk factor for seizures in stroke patients, its frequent associated nocturnal oxygen desaturation seems to be the most plausible explanation. Further prospective are needed to assess the role of COPD as a possible independent risk factor for stroke-related seizures.

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Background: The cortical involvement of territorial infarcts is considered to be a significant risk factor for the development of early- as well as late-onset seizures. However, it is not known which cortical regions are more susceptible to the development of stroke-related seizures. Patients and Methods: In this retrospective study of 687 patients with territorial infarcts, 184 with stroke-related seizures were compared to 503 without seizures. The extent and the location of the infarcts were determined by computed tomography (CT) scans and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain. The infarcts of the seizure and the non-seizure group were compared on digital cerebral vascular maps by superimposing the CT and/or MRI slices. Results: In patients with late-onset seizures, the infarcts were significantly more frequent in the temporal and parietal branches of the middle cerebral artery in comparison to the non-seizure group. In patients with early-onset seizures and in those with seizures due to a recurrent stroke, the territory of the temporal and occipital branches of the middle cerebral artery was the predilection side of the infarcts. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures occurred mainly in cases of infarction in the deep territory of the middle cerebral and of the anterior choroidal artery. Status epilepticus was significantly correlated with infarcts in the posterior temporal region. Conclusion: Some infarct regions are the sides of predilection for stroke-related seizures according to their type and their onset-time.

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While the subjective tolerance of the two APAP machines was comparable, these devices were characterized by different pressure profiles. The pressure parameters of the AutoSet correlated better with Ppred than those of the SOMNOsmart.

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