Surgery for Epilepsy has other great results

New research reveals depression and anxiety both improve significantly in epilepsy patients after they have surgery to reduce or eliminate seizures.

Researchers at the New York University School of Medicine aren't sure why depression and anxiety improve after epilepsy surgery. However, they found both decreased by more than 50-percent up to two years after the surgery. Patients were even more likely to be free of depression and anxiety if the surgery got rid of their seizures.

"These results are important because depression and anxiety can significantly affect the quality of life," says study author Orrin Devinsky, M.D., a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology with the New York University School of Medicine. "For people with refractory epilepsy, studies show that depression is more likely to affect their quality of life than how often they have seizures or how many drugs they have to take."

Study participants included 360 patients in seven U.S. epilepsy centers who were having epilepsy surgery to remove the area of the brain producing the seizures. Before the surgery, 22 percent of participants had depression compared to 9 percent two years after the surgery. Eighteen percent had an anxiety disorder before the surgery. Two years after the surgery, only 10-percent did.

Study participants who had no seizures after surgery had even greater benefits. Results show 8 percent had depression compared to 18-percent of participants who still had some seizures. Eight percent of participants who were seizure-free had anxiety disorders compared to 15 percent with ongoing seizures.