A case of seizures 1 week after the cessation of interferon-alpha therapy

We report on a 60-year-old woman with a history of bipolar mood disorder who had seizures and developed a delirious state 1 week after the cessation of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) for chronic hepatitis C. The IFN-alpha was administered to the patient for 7 weeks (266 million IU). One week after the cessation of IFN-alpha therapy, the patient had four generalized tonic-clonic seizures over a 2-day period and developed a delirious state for 2 months. We consider these seizures and delirious state to be related to IFN-alpha.