Relief of epilepsy by radiosurgery of cerebral arteriovenous malformations.

129 patients with inoperable cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) were treated by stereotactic proton beam irradiation. Symptomatic epilepsy was present in 29 patients (22.5%) before the treatment. It was markedly relieved by the radiosurgery leading to cessation of the seizures in 16 patients, the persisting seizure-free follow-up period ranging from 2 to 8 years (mean 4.5 years). In no case was the epilepsy worsened by radiosurgery. The positive effect on epilepsy was not strictly dependent on the angiographic result, suggesting that the ionizing radiation by itself could lead to inhibition of epileptic activity around the AVM.