A new study investigates the long-term risks of poststroke epilepsy after primary intracerebral haemorrhage

Epilepsy can be genetic, but also acquired after brain insults. Cerebrovascular disease is the most common cause of epilepsy after middle age and accounts for 14–21% of all cases of epilepsy in developed countries (1). Exactly how stroke causes seizures is not known, but the risk of poststroke epilepsy (PSE) seems to vary with lesion characteristics. Hemorrhage carries a higher risk of epilepsy than infarctions, as do larger strokes and strokes near the brain cortex (2).