Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine whether a brief memory enhancement course in persons with epilepsy (PWE) can improve cognitive abilities, quality of life, self-management, and seizure severity.
Methods: Thirty-nine PWE completed a 1-hour memory enhancement course. This was preceded by a baseline/preintervention assessment (BA/PRE), followed by postintervention assessment (POST) at 1 & 1/2 to 3 months, and a delayed postintervention assessment evaluation (DPOST) at 4 & 1/2 to 6 months after course completion. In order to assess for retesting bias, an additional 30 PWE underwent a separate BA and PRE.
Results: There was significant improvement on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Patient Information System version 2.0 Cognitive Function Abilities Subset and the Epilepsy Self-Management Scale (ESMS) on both POST and DPOST when compared with BA/PRE. Retesting bias did not occur. On ESMS subscale evaluation, significant improvement occurred on the Lifestyle Management subscale. There was no improvement in quality of life and seizure severity. There was good patient acceptability for the memory program.
Conclusion: A brief memory enhancement course results in sustained improvement in cognitive functioning and self-management of PWE.
Keywords: Cognition; Epilepsy; Memory; Patient-Reported Outcomes Patient Information System (PROMIS); Seizures; Self-management.
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