Seizure Disorders USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 16-year-old girl presents to the neurology clinic with a 6-month history of three unprovoked generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Vital signs are stable. Brain MRI is normal. EEG demonstrates bilateral synchronous 3-Hz spike-and-wave discharges consistent with idiopathic generalized epilepsy. She has no prior history of febrile seizures, head trauma, or central nervous system infection. She is not currently on any antiepileptic drugs. She asks which lifestyle modification would be most likely to reduce her seizure recurrence risk. Which of the following represents the most evidence-based intervention?
Answer choices
- AAvoiding sleep deprivation and maintaining regular sleep-wake cyclesCorrect answer
- BLimiting caffeine intake to <100 mg daily from all sources
- CAvoiding hot baths and saunas to prevent temperature elevation
- DRestricting dietary refined carbohydrates and simple sugars
- EMinimizing television and computer screen time to <2 hours daily
- FAvoiding estrogen-containing oral contraceptives until seizure-free for 12 months
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