Functional (psychogenic non-epileptic/dissociative) seizures: why and how?

Functional seizures (FS) known also as psychogenic non-epileptic seizures or dissociative seizures, present with ictal semiological manifestations, along with various comorbid neurological and psychological disorders. Terminology inconsistencies and discrepancies in nomenclatures of FS may reflect limitations in understanding the neuropsychiatric intricacies of this disorder. Psychological and neurobiological processes of FS are incompletely understood. Nevertheless, important advances have been made on underlying neuropsychopathophysiological mechanisms of FS. These advances provide valuable information about the underlying mechanisms of mind-body interactions. From this perspective, this narrative review summarises recent studies about aetiopathogenesis of FS at two levels: possible risk factors (why) and different aetiopathogenic models of FS (how). We divided possible risk factors for FS into three categories, namely neurobiological, psychological and cognitive risk factors. We also presented different models of FS based on psychological and neuroanatomical understanding, multilevel models and integrative understanding of FS. This work should help professionals to better understand current views on the multifactorial mechanisms involved in the development of FS. Shedding light on the different FS profiles in terms of aetiopathogenesis will help guide how best to direct therapy, based on these different underlying mechanisms.

ILAE clinical practice recommendations for the medical treatment of depression in adults with epilepsy.

The aim of this document is to provide evidence-based recommendations for the medical treatment of depression in adults with epilepsy. The working group consisted of members of an ad hoc Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Commission on Psychiatry, ILAE Executive and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) representatives. The development of these recommendations is based on a systematic review of studies on the treatment of depression in adults with epilepsy, and a formal adaptation process of existing guidelines and recommendations of treatment of depression outside epilepsy using the ADAPTE process. The systematic review identified 11 studies on drug treatments (788 participants, class of evidence III and IV); 13 studies on psychological treatments (998 participants, class of evidence II, III and IV); and 2 studies comparing sertraline with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; 155 participants, class of evidence I and IV). The ADAPTE process identified the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry guidelines for the biological treatment of unipolar depression as the starting point for the adaptation process. This document focuses on first-line drug treatment, inadequate response to first-line antidepressant treatment, and duration of such treatment and augmentation strategies within the broader context of electroconvulsive therapy, psychological, and other treatments. For mild depressive episodes, psychological interventions are first-line treatments, and where medication is used, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-choice medications (Level B). SSRIs remain the first-choice medications (Level B) for moderate to severe depressive episodes; however, in patients who are partially or non-responding to first-line treatment, switching to venlafaxine appears legitimate (Level C). Antidepressant treatment should be maintained for at least 6 months following remission from a first depressive episode but it should be prolonged to 9 months in patients with a history of previous episodes and should continue even longer in severe depression or in cases of residual symptomatology until such symptoms have subsided.

Mechanisms of Long-Latency Paired Pulse Suppression: MEG Study.

Paired pulse suppression is an electrophysiological method used to evaluate sensory suppression and often applied to patients with psychiatric disorders. However, it remains unclear whether the suppression comes from specific inhibitory mechanisms, refractoriness, or fatigue. In the present study, to investigate mechanisms of suppression induced by an auditory paired pulse paradigm in 19 healthy subjects, magnetoencephalography was employed. The control stimulus was a train of 25-ms pure tones of 65 dB SPL for 2500 ms. In order to evoke a test response, the sound pressure of two consecutive tones at 2200 ms in the control sound was increased to 80 dB (Test stimulus). Similar sound pressure changes were also inserted at 1000 (CS2) and 1600 (CS1) ms as conditioning stimuli. Four stimulus conditions were used; (1) Test alone, (2) Test + CS1, (3) Test + CS1 + CS2, and (4) Test + CS2, with the four sound stimuli randomly presented and cortical responses averaged at least 100 times for each condition. The baseline-to-peak and peak-to-peak amplitudes of the P50m, N100m, and P200m components of the test response were compared among the four conditions. In addition, the response to CS1 was compared between conditions (2) and (3). The results showed significant test response suppression by CS1. While the response to CS1 was significantly suppressed when CS2 was present, it did not affect suppression of the test response by CS1. It was thus suggested that the amplitude of the response to a conditioning stimulus is not a factor to determine the inhibitory effects of the test response, indicating that suppression is due to an external influence on the excitatory pathway.

Quality of life for patients with psychogenic nonepilepsy seizures in comparison with age- and gender-matched patients with epilepsy - Cross-sectional study.

AIMS: Patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), and age- and gender-matched patients with epilepsy (PWE) who utilized an out-patient service were compared regarding quality of life (QoL) and self-reported symptoms of depression. Additionally, the impact of miscellaneous clinical variables including symptoms of depression on QoL in patients with PNES and PWE in real-world settings was assessed. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Adult patients who had a diagnosis of definite or documented PNES based on LaFrance's criteria (PNES group, n = 62), or of epilepsy based on results of clinical and EEG procedures (Epilepsy group, n = 61) were enrolled. To assess QoL and evaluate depression, the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-10 (QOLIE-10) and Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E), respectively, were administered. RESULTS: Comparisons between the groups revealed a shorter duration of illness and fewer number of attacks in patients with PNES as compared to the Epilepsy group (p < 0.0001; p = 0.0003, respectively). There was no significant difference between the groups revealed by the QOLIE-10 (p = 0.141), while the patients with PNES tended to have higher NDDI-E scores (p = 0.068). Multiple regression analysis of QOLIE-10 results in the PNES group revealed that NDDI-E score was the sole significant contributor (ß = -0.425 p = 0.001). In contrast, NDDI-E score as well as attack frequency had a significant impact on QOLIE-10 results in the Epilepsy group (ß = -0.283 p = 0.026; ß = -0.272 p = 0.031, respectively). CONCLUSION: In PWE and patients with PNES who utilized an out-patient service, QoL did not differ significantly between those groups. For treating PNES, psychosocial factors may be a more appropriate indicator of therapeutic goal than attack frequency.

Differences in aggression as psychiatric side effect of levetiracetam and perampanel in patients with epilepsy.

PURPOSE: Aggression is the most commonly encountered antiepileptic-drug (AED)-induced psychiatric adverse effects. Levetiracetam (LEV) is well known to be associated with increased rates of aggression, while perampanel (PER) is also recognized as a potentially aggression-promoting agent, though opinions vary. However, few studies have addressed questions regarding whether the nature of irritability-aggression differs between those drugs. The present study used a standardized rating scale to examine aggression among patient with epilepsy who received LEV or PER using specific measures to confirm the effects of the drugs. METHODS: We enrolled 144 consecutive outpatients receiving treatment for epilepsy with LEV (n = 103) or PER (n = 41), and determined their effects regarding aggression using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ). For analysis, total BAQ scores for the LEV and PER subjects were compared to determine whether the aggression-promoting effects of the agents differed, and which BAQ subdomains (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility) were related to production of aggression in patients taking either LEV or PER. As a subsidiary analysis, clinical variables inclusive of administered AED type that showed a significant impact on BAQ scores were determined. RESULTS: The LEV group had a significantly higher hostility score (19.4 ±â€¯5.8) as compared to the PER group (17.2 ±â€¯6.3) in subscale analysis (p < 0.05). In multiple regression analysis, LEV had a significant association with higher hostility score (P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that while easily visible outward-directed aggression tends to be dominant in patients given PER, aggression provoked by LEV may be felt more subjectively or in an inward-directed manner, which can lead to more diverse expression and misrecognition.

Aggression as psychiatric side effect of newer AEDs in patients with epilepsy: Cross-sectional study based on Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire.

PURPOSE: Aggression-irritability is the most commonly encountered antiepileptic-drug-induced psychiatric adverse effects. In this cross-sectional study, we tried to assess antiepileptic-drug-induced aggression in patients with epilepsy (PWE) with a standardized rating scale. METHODS: Two hundred sixty-six consecutive outpatients receiving treatment for epilepsy with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were initially examined, and the effects of the investigated drugs in regard to aggression were investigated using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ). We compared BAQ scores as a function of a specific class of AEDs, levetiracetam (LEV), lacosamaide (LCM), perampanel (PER), and carbamazepine (CBZ), and determined whether AED type had a relationship with aggression. Additionally, the association of BAQ score with other clinico-demographic variables was also assessed. RESULTS: One-way ANOVA revealed that the LEV group had a significantly higher mean BAQ score as compared to the CBZ (P = 0.001) and LCM (P = 0.029) groups for total score. In subscale analysis, the LEV group had higher scores than the CBZ group for the physical aggression (p = 0.01), verbal aggression (p = 0.02) and hostility (p = 0.01) subscales, while the LEV group had a significantly higher mean score than the LCM group for hostility (p = 0.025). In multiple regression analysis, LEV had a statistically significant impact on increased total BAQ score (B = 0.119, p = 0.049). In contrast, CBZ (B = -0.191, p = 0.002), older age at epilepsy onset (B = -0.269, p = 0.000) and female gender (B = -0.210, p = 0.000) had a significant association with lower total BAQ score. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that LEV is associated with increased aggression, while CBZ and LCM showed effects to reduce aggression.

Psychosis rarely occurs in patients with late-onset focal epilepsy.

AIMS: We examined psychosis occurrence in patients with late-onset focal epilepsy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Case records of consecutive patients with focal epilepsy without central nervous system (CNS) disease (n = 873) were retrospectively examined, with gender, age at epilepsy onset, duration of epilepsy, epilepsy type (temporal or extratemporal), and age at the initial examination used as clinical and demographic variables. Patients with onset ≤49 years old (control) were compared with those with late-onset. RESULTS: In the control group (n = 775), 38 had a history of psychosis, while none in the late-onset group (n = 98) reported that (p = 0.016). Psychosis was only interictal in 32 and predominantly postictal in 6, while 2 patients showed both interictal and postictal psychosis. Duration of illness (p = 0.000001) and temporal lobe epilepsy (p = 0.000343) were significant determinants associated with psychosis. Gender (p = 0.210) and age at examination (p = 0.084) were found to be not contributory to psychosis. DISCUSSION: The prevalence for a history of psychosis in the present cohort (2.5%) agrees well with that noted in previous studies, and duration of illness proved to be the most powerful determining factor leading to that. A keen awareness of unrecognized underlying CNS or metabolic disease is important when psychosis appears in patients with nonlesional late-onset epilepsy, which should lead to an in-depth investigation of possible underlying and still uncovered CNS disease.

Suppression of Somatosensory Evoked Cortical Responses by Noxious Stimuli.

Paired-pulse suppression refers to attenuation of neural activity in response to a second stimulus and has a pivotal role in inhibition of redundant sensory inputs. Previous studies have suggested that cortical responses to a somatosensory stimulus are modulated not only by a preceding same stimulus, but also by stimulus from a different submodality. Using magnetoencephalography, we examined somatosensory suppression induced by three different conditioning stimuli. The test stimulus was a train of electrical pulses to the dorsum of the left hand at 100 Hz lasting 1500 ms. For the pulse train, the intensity of the stimulus was abruptly increased at 1200 ms. Cortical responses to the abrupt intensity change were recorded and used as the test response. Conditioning stimuli were presented at 600 ms as pure tones, either innocuous or noxious electrical stimulation to the right foot. Four stimulus conditions were used: (1) Test alone, (2) Test + auditory stimulus, (3) Test + somatosensory stimulus, and (4) Test + nociceptive stimulus. Our results showed that the amplitude of the test response was significantly smaller for conditions (3) and (4) in the secondary somatosensory cortex contralateral (cSII) and ipsilateral (iSII) to the stimulated side as compared to the response to condition (1), whereas the amplitude of the response in the primary somatosensory cortex did not differ among the conditions. The auditory stimulus did not have effects on somatosensory change-related response. These findings show that somatosensory suppression was induced by not only a conditioning stimulus of the same somatosensory submodality and the same cutaneous site to the test stimulus, but also by that of a different submodality in a remote area.

Epileptic psychoses are underrecognized by French neurologists and psychiatrists.

This study evaluates the knowledge about psychotic disorders associated with epilepsy among medical practitioners in France. A self-report questionnaire was sent, and responses of 486 participants were collected. Results showed the rate of correct responses being higher among neurologists compared to psychiatrists, respectively 70.6% and 58.3% (p < 10-11). The highest rate of correct responses was found for the participants trained in epileptology (71%), and a regression analysis confirmed that epilepsy-training was the most influential variable. However, we found that knowledge about epileptic psychosis was imprecise among all participants: current classification was not known to most participants (77%), there were false beliefs concerning postictal confusion and psychosis (41%), and both prevalence and duration of postictal psychosis were not well-known. There is the first survey to highlight such gaps of knowledge, and hopefully lead to measures to remedy this, especially specialists such as psychiatrists, neurologists, and epileptologists who may be called upon to treat such patients.

Access to diagnostic and therapeutic facilities for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: An international survey by the ILAE PNES Task Force.

OBJECTIVE: Studies from a small number of countries suggest that patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) have limited access to diagnostic and treatment services. The PNES Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) carried out 2 surveys to explore the diagnosis and treatment of PNES around the world. METHODS: A short survey (8 questions) was sent to all 114 chapters of the ILAE. A longer survey (36 questions) was completed by healthcare professionals who see patients with seizures. Questions were separated into 5 sections: professional role, diagnostic methods, management, etiology, and access to health care. RESULTS: Responses were received from 63 different countries. The short survey was completed by 48 ILAE chapters, and the long survey by 1098 health professionals from 28 countries. PNES were recognized as a diagnostic and therapeutic problem in all countries. Trauma and mental health issues were most commonly recognized as etiologic factors. There was a clear relationship between income and access to diagnostic tests and expertise. Psychological therapy was most commonly considered the treatment of choice. Although financial difficulties were the most commonly reported problem with service access in low-income countries, in all countries stigma, lack of popular awareness, and lack of information posed challenges. SIGNIFICANCE: This global provider survey demonstrates that PNES are a health problem around the world. Health care for PNES could be improved with better education of healthcare professionals, the development of reliable and simple diagnostic procedures that do not rely on costly tests, and the provision of accessible information.

Pharmacotherapy in patients with epilepsy and psychosis.

The recognition and treatment of psychosis in persons with epilepsy (PWE) is recommended with the apparent dilemma between treating psychosis and opening the possibility of exacerbating seizures. The pooled prevalence estimate of psychosis in PWE is 5.6%. It has been proposed that a 'two hit' model, requiring both aberrant limbic activity and impaired frontal control, may account for the wide range of clinical phenotypes. The role of antiepileptic drugs in psychosis in PWE remains unclear. Alternating psychosis, the clinical phenomenon of a reciprocal relationship between psychosis and seizures, is unlikely to be an exclusively antiepileptic drug-specific phenomenon but rather, linked to the neurobiological mechanisms underlying seizure control. Reevaluation of antiepileptic treatment, including the agent/s being used and degree of epileptic seizure control is recommended. The authors found very few controlled studies to inform evidence-based treatment of psychosis in PWE. However, antipsychotics and benzodiazepines are recommended as the symptomatic clinical treatments of choice for postictal and brief interictal psychoses. The general principle of early symptomatic treatment of psychotic symptoms applies in epilepsy-related psychoses, as for primary psychotic disorders. In the authors' experience, low doses of antipsychotic medications do not significantly increase clinical risk of seizures in PWE being concurrently treated with an efficacious antiepileptic regimen.

Pre- and post-surgical psychiatric assessments and intervention by major epilepsy centers in Japan - Nationwide survey.

BACKGROUND: Although psychiatric issues following epilepsy surgery are now widely recognized as a major problem, actual awareness of these issues by epilepsy centers remains to be elucidated. This is the first known report regarding the use of psychiatric assessments and interventions by epilepsy centers throughout Japan. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: At the beginning of 2016, we sent a questionnaire regarding psychiatric assessments performed before and after epilepsy surgery, psychiatric intervention after surgery, and future plans for dealing with psychiatric issues in relation to epilepsy surgery, which consisted of a total of 24 items, to all members of the Japan Epilepsy Center Association (JEPICA). Nearly all major epilepsy centers in Japan are included in JEPICA, which had 31 members in 2016. Twenty-four (77%) of the 31 centers responded to the questionnaire. RESULTS: Seventeen (70.8%) centers answered that a psychiatrist was incorporated as part of their epilepsy surgery unit. In addition, 17 (70.8%) noted that psychiatric assessments were obtained prior to surgery, which were performed by psychiatrists in 8 (33.3%) centers and psychologists in 11 (45.8%). In 23 (95.8%) of the centers, the risk of occurrence of psychiatric illness following surgery was routinely explained prior to surgery, at least to surgical candidates with high susceptibility. In total, cases of psychiatric illness following surgery had been experienced in 16 (66.7%) centers, with depression as the most commonly encountered (41.7%), followed by anxiety (33.3%), psychosis (25.0%), and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (8.3%). DISCUSSION: Strong points of epilepsy centers in Japan include serious concern regarding post-surgical psychiatric illness by nearly all members of JEPICA and explanation of the risk of psychiatric adverse events provided beforehand to their patients. On the other hand, the small size of some epilepsy centers, along with lack of a standardized method for evaluation of psychiatric symptoms as well as dependence on the individual willingness of psychiatrists assigned as members of the epilepsy units, seem to have led to significant diagnostic and therapeutic gaps among epilepsy centers regarding psychiatric issues related to epilepsy surgery.

Delusional experience awareness gap between patients and treating doctors - Self-reported EPDS questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES: Although early and rapid recognition of a psychotic trend in patients with epilepsy certainly pay dividends, there is no handy assessment instrument for screening because of multiple intrinsic difficulties such as lack of a standard screener as well as a reliability gap for screeners between help-seeking and general populations. On the other hand, the predominance of positive symptoms at the initial stage of psychosis is a promising aspect of this specific group. The following specific questions were examined. Is there a measurable difference between the assessment of the treating doctor and the real feelings of the patient? How well does the attained score correspond to the clinical diagnosis? METHODS: The self-reported Emotions with Persecutory Delusions Scale (EPDS) questionnaire, previously validated in a general population, was used as the assessment tool for psychotic trend in 79 outpatients with epilepsy. Independent from scoring by the patients, the treating doctors also expressed their impressions about the same patients using the same scoring tool. RESULTS: Stepwise multiple regression analysis of the EPDS scores of both doctors and patients revealed that a clinical diagnosis of psychosis was the only independent variable significantly related to EPDS score. Also, there was a significant difference between the EPDS scores of the patients and those of the doctors, in favor of the former. SIGNIFICANCE: Clinical diagnosis of psychosis proved to be the most powerful determinant of EPDS score independent from other clinical factors. The awareness gap between doctors and patients based on EPDS score revealed that treating doctors often clearly underestimate the psychotic trend of their patients. Our findings suggest that such simple tests as EPDS, with a narrow focus on attenuated delusional symptoms, may help screen for an early psychotic episode in patients with epilepsy that may otherwise not be diagnosed by their physicians.

Validation of the Chinese version of the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (C-NDDI-E) in West China.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to validate the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E) for Chinese people with epilepsy (PWE). METHODS: The NDDI-E was translated into a Chinese version. A consecutive cohort of PWE from West China Hospital was recruited to test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the NDDI-E (C-NDDI-E). Each patient underwent the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and C-NDDI-E. RESULTS: A total of 202 PWE completed the psychiatric evaluation. The C-NDDI-E was easily comprehended and quickly completed by all participants. Fifty-four patients (26.7%) had current major depressive disorder (MDD) according to the MINI criteria. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the C-NDDI-E was 0.825. Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed an area under the curve of 0.936 (95% CI=0.904-0.968). At a cutoff score of >12, the C-NDDI-E had a sensitivity of 0.926, a specificity of 0.804, a positive predictive value of 0.633, and a negative predictive value of 0.967. CONCLUSION: The C-NDDI-E is a valuable instrument for screening MDD in Chinese PWE.

Dissociative experiences in epilepsy: effects of epilepsy-related factors on pathological dissociation.

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNESs) in patients with epilepsy can be categorized as dissociative disorders. The prevalence of PNESs in patients with epilepsy appears to be much higher than that of dissociative experiences in nonclinical subjects. In order to clarify as to whether epilepsy-related factors were associated with pathological dissociation, we conducted a controlled study with 225 patients with epilepsy and 334 nonclinically matched individuals. All participants completed the Japanese version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). There was no significant difference in the DES score (DES-S) between the group with epilepsy and the control group. The group with epilepsy showed a significantly higher DES taxon (DES-T; a subset of DES-S and an index of pathological dissociation) than the control group. Thirty-one out of the 225 patients with epilepsy (13.8%) had PNESs. Because of its strong association with the DES-S and DES-T, PNESs can be regarded as a symptom of dissociation. With multiple regression analysis, the patients with a shorter duration of epilepsy, higher seizure frequency, or shorter period in education tend to suffer from pathological dissociation. These findings demonstrate that patients with epilepsy are more prone to experiencing pathological dissociation when having certain clinical factors.

Anger is a distinctive feature of epilepsy patients with depression.

Controversy exists regarding the similarity between depression as seen in patients with epilepsy and in those with idiopathic major depression. The objective of this study was to examine whether anger is a distinctive feature of depression in epilepsy. Participants included 487 adult patients with epilepsy (study group) and 85 patients with idiopathic major depression according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria, and without other neurological complications (control group). All participants completed the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report (IDS-SR) and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ). The IDS-SR is a self-report questionnaire that measures depression severity and assesses all symptoms of depression as defined by the DSM-IV. The BAQ is a self-rating scale designed for assessing aggression. After examining potential confounding factors (i.e., demographic and clinical variables) using a multivariate linear regression model, BAQ scores were compared between the study (n = 85) and control groups (n = 54) for patients with moderate or severe depression using established cut-off points (IDS-SR score > 25). BAQ scores were significantly higher in the study group (P = 0.009). Among the BAQ subscales, only anger showed a statistically significant difference (P = 0.013). Although a significant correlation was revealed between the IDS-SR and BAQ scores in the study group, no such correlation was found in the control group. Thus, anger might be a constituent component of depression among epilepsy patients, but not among idiopathic major depression patients.

Relationship between blood levels of propofol and recovery of memory in electroconvulsive therapy.

AIM: Memory impairment is a potential major adverse effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Some reports have suggested that propofol, an intravenous anesthetic widely used for general anesthesia in ECT, can minimize adverse effects on memory and cognitive function following ECT. The relation between propofol blood level during ECT and memory impairment after the procedure is unknown. We aimed to determine the relation between predicted blood level of propofol administered by target-controlled infusion during ECT and memory impairment after the procedure. METHODS: Thirty-six patients who underwent a total of 260 series of ECT were enrolled as subjects. Anesthesia was induced with intravenous injection of propofol with a target-controlled infusion pump for predicting blood levels. Orientation and memory testing were performed after completion of ECT. In a subsequent analysis, subjects were divided into early memory recovery (n = 195) and late memory recovery (n = 65) groups. Likewise, for orientation testing,subjects were divided into early recovery (n = 193) and late recovery (n = 67) groups. In both groups, predicted blood propofol levels, total propofol dose, and other variables, such as number of ECT treatments, stimulus energy volume, and spike and slow wave time, were determined for comparison. RESULTS: Predicted blood propofol levels and propofol total dose were significantly higher in the early memory recovery group, while no significant differences were observed for the other variables. As for orientation, there were no significant differences between the early and late orientation recovery groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our data shows that the predicted blood propofol levels and the total dose influences memory impairment after the ECT.

[Therapeutic strategy for mental symptoms in people with epilepsy].

Epilepsy has an association with nearly all types of psychiatric problems and psychiatric symptoms are common clinical manifestations seen in epilepsy patients. For example, interictal depression in individuals with epilepsy is more prevalent than in the general population or among patients with other chronic disorders. The high frequency of depression and clinical impact of psychosis in epilepsy have been well documented in recent studies, indicating the importance of diagnosing and treating psychiatric implications in affected patients. This article reviews various psychiatric symptoms such as postictal psychosis, interictal psychosis, depression, psychogenic non-epileptic seizure(PNES), and cognitive dysfunction encountered in patients with epilepsy.

Insights into Postictal Psychosis, from functional imaging and EEG: A systematic review.

Multiple hypotheses exist about the pathophysiology of Postictal Psychosis (PIP). As the clinical manifestations of PIP are roughly stereotyped, we assumed the existence of a common neurological pathway. This study aimed to determine if a specific brain network sustained the psychotic episode, regardless of the localization of the epileptogenic zone. We conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines. We included a total of 24 studies providing electrophysiological results(n=22) and metabolic imaging performed during the PIP(n=5). Temporal and frontal lobes seemed frequently involved, without clear evidence for lateralization. The EEG patterns were heterogenous, varying from unchanged to diffuse slowing. Metabolic pattern showed an increased perfusion within temporal and frontal lobes during PIP. These results correspond to the patterns described during postictal state, but they persisted throughout PIP, within regions larger than the epileptogenic zone and resolved with the recovery. PIP symptoms are associated with an excessive persistence of postictal changes within extended frontotemporal networks. A hypothesis could be that PIP results from an abnormally prolonged and diffuse post-ictal dysregulation.

Quetiapine and Valproic Acid-induced Central Hypothyroidism in a Patient with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intractable Epilepsy: A Case Report.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are prone to disruptive behaviors and aggression. Atypical antipsychotics are used to treat these difficult ASD conditions. Several psychotropic drugs have been linked to hypothyroidism. The clinical manifestation of hypothyroidism is indistinguishable from that of an antipsychotic's general adverse effect, which can lead to a delayed or missed diagnosis. Conversely, thyroid dysfunction can exhibit an impact on mood, anxiety, depression, and cognitive functions. CASE STUDY: We present a case of central hypothyroidism caused by long-term use of valproic acid (VPA) and adding quetiapine to risperidone. The current case had a history of hyperprolactinemia and subclinical hypothyroidism caused by risperidone and VPA, respectively, before the administration of quetiapine. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of quetiapine-induced central hypothyroidism in a patient with ASD, as determined by a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) loading test. TRH loading test may be useful in elucidating the pathogenesis of hypothyroidism in patients receiving quetiapine and VPA. Thyroid function monitoring in patients taking quetiapine and VPA may provide an opportunity to begin replacement therapy.