Psychiatric Comorbidity In Epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of most frequent neurological disorders affecting about 50 million people worldwide and 50% of them have at least another medical problem in comorbidity; sometimes this is a the cause of the epilepsy itself or it is due to shared neurobiological links between epilepsy and other medical conditions; other times it is a long-term consequence of the antiepileptic drug treatment. The Comorbidities of Epilepsy offers an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of all comorbidities of epilepsy (somatic, neurological and behavioral), by international authorities in the field of clinical epileptology, with an emphasis on epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. This book includes also a critical appraisal of the methodological aspects and limitations of current research on this field. Pharmacological issues in the management of comorbidities are discussed, providing information on drug dosages, side effects and interactions, in order to enable the reader to manage these patients safely. The Comorbidities of Epilepsy is aimed at all health professionals dealing with people with epilepsy including neurologists, epileptologists, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, epilepsy specialist nurses and clinical researchers. Provides a comprehensive overview of somatic, neurological and behavioral co-morbidities of epilepsy Discusses up-to-date management of comorbidities of epilepsy Written by a group of international experts in the field

Epilepsy affects 40 million people worldwide. With appropriate treatment most can become seizure free. For a minority of patients who also suffer from psychiatric comorbidity, however, diagnosis and management may be complicated by uncontrolled seizures, associated stigma or by the treatment of the epilepsy itself. Written by the world's foremost authorities on the neuropsychiatric manifestations of epilepsy, Psychiatric Comorbidity in Epilepsy is a comprehensive clinical, research, and treatment text for health care professionals -- including psychiatrists, neurologists, and neuropsychologists -- who treat patients with epilepsy and comorbid psychiatric problems. Based on a thorough knowledge of contemporary neuroscience, this book addresses the critical psychosocial and psychiatric issues that can affect patient care, including depression, psychosis, nonepileptic seizure-like events, antiepileptic drug toxicity, and family issues. This book also examines the possible links between the neurobiology of neuropsychiatric illness and the neurobiology of seizures, providing insight into brain behavior relations.

Psychiatric Controversies in Epilepsy addresses controversial clinical issues of the psychiatric aspects of epilepsy. The book explores the reasons behind the poor communication between psychiatrists and neurologists and suggests potential remedies to this important problem, and two chapters are devoted to examining whether psychiatrists and neurologists are properly trained to recognize and treat conditions that both disciplines commonly encounter in clinical practice. Identification of the causes behind the high rate of comorbidity between epilepsy and mood, anxiety, psychotic and attention deficit disorders is given high priority in the volume, and a specific review of the evidence of common pathogenic mechanisms that may be operant in epilepsy and these psychiatric disorders is included. Recently identified bidirectional relationship between mood disorders and epilepsy and its implication in the course and response to treatment of the seizure disorder are also explored. Several chapters are devoted to rectify common misunderstandings of the use of psychotropic drugs in patients with epilepsy, including the use of antidepressant and central nervous system stimulants. Finally, one chapter explores the possibility of organic causes of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Compiles into one source the important controversial issues of the psychiatric aspects of epilepsy, which have significant implications in clinical practice Authors are internationally recognized authorities in the field of psychiatric aspects of epilepsy

This book is an up-to-date, comprehensive review of the neuropsychiatry of epilepsy, by active authorities in the field, with an emphasis on clinical and management issues. A critical appraisal of the methodology and limitations of current research on the neuropsychiatry of epilepsy is provided, and unanswered questions and controversies are addressed. Pharmacological aspects of management are also discussed in order to enable the reader to manage these patients more safely. Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Epilepsy is aimed at neurologists, epileptologists, psychiatrists and neuropsychiatrists, and will also be of interest to psychologists and neuropsychologists, research and specialist nurses, clinical researchers and methodologists.

Jasper's Basic Mechanisms, Fourth Edition, is the newest most ambitious and now clinically relevant publishing project to build on the four-decade legacy of the Jasper's series. In keeping with the original goal of searching for "a better understanding of the epilepsies and rational methods of prevention and treatment.", the book represents an encyclopedic compendium neurobiological mechanisms of seizures, epileptogenesis, epilepsy genetics and comordid conditions. Of practical importance to the clinician, and new to this edition are disease mechanisms of genetic epilepsies and therapeutic approaches, ranging from novel antiepileptic drug targets to cell and gene therapies.

Research into the neuropsychiatry of epilepsy has become a central focus of interest in the last five years. Comorbidity of epilepsy with behavioral problems is now recognized widely, and the neuroscientific basis for such comorbidity is an active area of investigation. With an expanded international team of authors, this fully revised new edition builds on the strengths of its predecessor, examining in detail the subtleties of behavioral changes in patients with seizure disorders and offering both a diagnostic and a management perspective. New chapters cover genetic disorders, the effects of epilepsy on social behavior as viewed through theory of mind, a discussion of the precuneus, the importance and nature of peri-ictal psychiatric symptoms, depression and the interictal dysphoric disorder, and the relationship between antiepileptic drugs and suicide. This new edition is a must for anyone involved in diagnosing or managing epilepsy.

Many people living with epilepsy also suffer from debilitating psychiatric and cognitive disorders. While these comorbidities have been recognized for centuries, their causation, and relationship to the epilepsy remains clouded in mystery. This volume highlights recent knowledge and findings as well as controversies in our current understanding of behavioral and psychiatric comorbidities of epilepsy.

This authoritative volume reviews clinical, pathophysiological and therapeutic aspects of oxidative and nitrosative stress in different psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Twenty-nine comprehensive chapters are divided into three distinct sections: clinical aspects, pathophysiological aspects, and therapeutic aspects. Together, these chapters present the environmental, genetic and neurodevelopmental factors in the generation of oxidative stress in psychiatric disorders, with particular emphasis on the biochemical changes associated with oxidative stress in dopaminergic and glutamate neurotransmission as well as mitochondrial dysfunction in the brain and peripheral cells. Through an investigation of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) abnormalities in schizophrenia, the book provides a coherent framework to account for the impact of oxidative stress on pathological phenomena ranging from cellular to cognitive and clinical aspects. It describes biomarkers of oxidative damage, the role of oxidative stress in numerous abnormalities of biochemical pathways in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, the development of new investigative techniques, specially neuroimaging, and studies of apoptotic pathways that seem to prove neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental theories. Written by leading researchers in their fields, Studies on Psychiatric Disorders explores therapeutic approaches with aspects of various antioxidants, cryostimulation, and hyperbaric oxygen treatment in oxidative stress in neuropsychiatric diseases. The volume also discusses the role of antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia on nitric oxide generation and biomarkers of oxidative stress together with the clinical symptomatology. Overall, it proposes that novel therapeutic strategies such as supplementation with antioxidants—in particular polyphenols, ω-3 fatty acids or combination of both—could be effective for long-term treatment of some neuropsychiatric disorders.