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Published on: September 20, 2024
Psychosis in epilepsy patients
Siddhartha Nadkarni1, Vanessa Arnedo, Orrin Devinsky
1Department of Neurology, New York University School of Medicine, New York University Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, New York, New York, USA.
Epilepsia
|December 6, 2007
Summary
Epileptic psychoses, disrupting mental function, can occur with or without seizures and share symptoms with schizophrenia. Management requires a multidisciplinary approach, especially for postictal and interictal psychosis.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
- Epileptology
Background:
- Epileptic psychoses represent a significant disruption of mental function.
- These psychotic episodes can manifest during seizure freedom, or during/after seizures.
- Symptoms often overlap with schizophrenia, including delusions and hallucinations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the understanding of epileptic psychoses.
- To highlight the association with temporal lobe epilepsy.
- To discuss management strategies for various forms of psychosis in epilepsy.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on epileptic psychoses.
- Analysis of symptom presentation and associations.
- Discussion of treatment modalities.
Main Results:
- Psychotic symptoms are common in epilepsy, particularly temporal lobe epilepsy.
- De novo psychosis post-surgery and psychosis from forced normalization are rare.
- Ictal and postictal psychosis may be prevented by seizure control.
Conclusions:
- Epileptic psychoses are complex neurological and psychiatric conditions.
- Effective management, especially for chronic forms, necessitates a multidisciplinary and psychopharmacologic approach.
- Seizure control is crucial for preventing certain psychotic episodes.
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