Cardiorespiratory and electroencephalographic responses to exhaustive acute physical exercise in people with temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

We evaluated physiological and electroencephalographic responses during a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) in people with epilepsy. Behavioral outcomes of people with epilepsy were also compared with those of healthy controls. Thirty-eight subjects (19 people with epilepsy and 19 controls) participated in this study. Poor outcomes in the behavioral analyses (habitual level of physical activity and quality of life) were observed in the people with epilepsy. With respect to the CPET, V.O(2max) (14.6%) and V.O(2) at anaerobic threshold (16.1%) were significantly lower in the epilepsy group than in the control group. Although not statistically significant, a decrease in the number of epileptiform discharges was observed between the rest state and exercise (82%) and between the rest state and recovery period (74%). In conclusion, the lower aerobic fitness in people with epilepsy observed may be associated with their sedentary habits. Moreover, our findings reinforce the hypothesis that exhaustive exercise is not a seizure-inducing factor.