Frontal lobe epilepsy is a common
focal epilepsy in children and is often difficult to treat.
Adrenocorticotropic hormone (
ACTH) or
steroids have been used for patients with several forms of medically
intractable epilepsy. We evaluated the short, medium, and long-term evolution of patients with
frontal lobe epilepsy and secondary bilateral synchrony on the EEG, who received
ACTH treatment. Patients were recruited for an add-on trial during clinical practice, and data was retrospectively analysed. The study group comprised 6 patients treated with
ACTH. The effects of
ACTH were assessed in the short term (at the end of a 6-week period of
ACTH treatment), medium term (at 6 months after the end of treatment), and long term (at 12 months after the end of treatment). At short-term follow-up,
ACTH treatment was effective for all types of
seizures in 5 of 6 patients and ineffective in 1 patient. All patients who were seizure-free at the end of
ACTH treatment maintained an excellent outcome, remaining seizure-free at the end of follow-up. Our study demonstrates that
ACTH may represent an effective treatment for
frontal lobe epilepsy with secondary bilateral synchrony. Further double-blind prospective studies are required to confirm our initial findings.