Is dietary caffeine involved in seizure precipitation?

Caffeine acts as a central nervous stimulant by blocking A1 and A2A adenosine receptors. Its effect on seizures is complex. Animal studies and case reports indicate that acute caffeine exposure may induce seizures, whereas chronic exposure might have an opposite effect. Patients acutely hospitalized for seizures (n = 174) were asked for their consumption of caffeinated beverages 24 h prior to admission as well as their habitual caffeine intake. Twenty-four-hour caffeine consumption was also recorded in a later telephone interview on a seizure-free day (n = 154). Thus, the patients served as their own controls. Categorized data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon's signed-ranks test. No difference was found between the intake of caffeine 24 h prior to the seizure and the habitual consumption (p = 0.37) or the consumption on a seizure-free day (p = 0.13). Thus, caffeine does not appear to be a common seizure precipitant.