More information about psychogenic seizures

Nearly 30 percent of people diagnosed with epilepsy actually have psychological events, or "psychogenic" seizures.

Three new studies published in the June 13 issue of Neurology focus on this issue and offer clues that may make it easier for clinicians to discriminate between the two conditions.

In one study, the researchers found that people in true epileptic seizures opened their eyes during a seizure, while people having psychogenic seizures closed them.

Another study discovered that people whose psychogenic seizures began when they were 55 or older were more likely to report traumatic experiences related to worsening physical health, and those whose seizures began before age 55 were more likely to have experienced sexual abuse.
The final study looked at 18 people seen in the emergency room for continuous seizures, or status epilepticus, who did not respond to epilepsy medication.

The members of this group who had psychogenic seizures were more likely to be less than 30 years old and had lower blood levels of the enzyme creatine kinase, which normally rise after epileptic seizures.

The study authors stressed the need for early, accurate diagnosis of psychogenic seizures because it typically takes seven and nine years to make the distinction.

During that time, the researchers noted, patients receive no treatment for their real condition, undergo constant testing, and take useless epileptic drugs that can, in the case of status epilepticus, result in severe complications.