Statin Use May Lower Long-Term Seizure Risk After Status Epilepticus: Study

A new study published in the journal of Epilepsia showed that utilizing statins after an initial occurrence of status epilepticus (SE) was linked to a reduced long-term likelihood of experiencing remote unprovoked seizures (RS) in comparison to abstaining from statin therapy.

Before epilepsy develops, there is evidence that statins can act as agents to prevent it. This research project delved into how the likelihood of experiencing seizures without a trigger in the distant past is impacted by taking statins among a group of individuals who survived their first episode of status epilepticus. A review was conducted on adult individuals (14 years old and above) who experienced their first seizure episode and were admitted to Modena Academic Hospital in Italy between September 2015 and December 2023. These patients were part of the Modena Status Epilepticus Registry.

A total of 314 individuals were part of the study, with an average age of 70 years, and 63% were women. The group exposed to statins included patients who were already taking statins before the study (n = 68) and those who began statin treatment while hospitalized (n = 18). Atorvastatin was the most commonly prescribed statin, accounting for 80% of prescriptions. Out of the total, 67 patients (21.3%) experienced RS during an average follow-up period of 31.5 months. The likelihood of experiencing RS within 12 months, 2 years, and 5 years after the event was 16%, 23%, and 32%, respectively.

The median duration from the initial event to the first occurrence of RS was 6.9 months (interquartile range = 11.6 months). The chances of developing RS were notably lower in individuals using statins when compared to those who did not use them (statistical significance at p = .038). When adjusting for other factors, individuals who began using statins after the initial event had a reduced risk of RS (hazard ratio = .48, 95% confidence interval = .26–.90, p = .023).

In this study involving a retrospective cohort of individuals who survived their first episode of SE, the likelihood of experiencing another seizure was moderate, particularly within the initial years following the initial event. Factors such as evolving causes and the presence of non-convulsive stages in the progression of SE symptoms were linked to a higher chance of seizure recurrence. It is important to note that these results should be viewed as generating hypotheses rather than proving a direct, preventative effect of statins against epilepsy.

Reference:

Orlandi, N., Giovannini, G., Taruffi, L., Burani, M., Dontsop, J. L. N., Malerba, M., Scolastico, S., Madrassi, L., Affronte, L., Pugnaghi, M., Vaudano, A. E., Lattanzi, S., & Meletti, S. (2026). Statin use and risk of remote seizure after first new onset status epilepticus. Epilepsia, (epi.70503). https://doi.org/10.1002/epi.70503