Yingtong Li

1 Introduction The importance of comorbidities in MS is increasingly recognised and may present an adjunctive therapeutic strategy to decrease disability progression. With the increasing age of those with secondary progressive MS (SPMS) compared to earlier, more relapsing forms, comorbidities, and in particular overall cardiovascular risk, are likely to be greater in those with SPMS [1, 2].

Key Points Question Is timely first-seizure clinic (FSC) attendance associated with reduced subsequent health care utilization? Findings In this record-linkage cohort study of patients with appointments booked at an FSC, FSC attendance, particularly within 14 days of the seizure event, was associated with reduced subsequent all-cause emergency presentations and all-cause hospitalization.

Nearly one third of adult patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy were not treated or had deferred treatment in specialist clinical practice. Immediately treated patients had significantly higher health care utilization, likely reflecting differences in epilepsy etiology. Patients undergoing deferred or no treatment did not have higher mortality or seizure-related deaths or a higher incidence of physical and psychiatric comorbidities.