THE UNDERESTIMATED ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DRUG RESISTANT EPILEPSIES AND NEUROPSYCHIATRIC COMORBIDITIES

ALAN TALEVI

Simposio; International Symposium NEWroscience 2023; 2023

Escuela de Medicina de Riberao Preto - Universidad de San Pablo

The association between epilepsies and a wide array of comorbid disorders, including bothCNS and non-CNS conditions has long been known. This may be related to neurobiologicalfactors (e.g., common underlying pathophysiology), to the way that the experience of livingand dealing with epilepsy affects a person’s view of the world and the person’s locus ofcontrol or, most likely, to the interplay between neurobiology and social setting. Severalanticonvulsant drugs have proven positive effects on mood disorders, and several drugs usedto treat mood disorders have positive effects on seizure control in severe drug resistantepilepsies (e.g., Dravet syndrome). The occurrence of comorbid disorders in patients withepilepsy is associated with a negative prognosis regarding the chances of achieving andsustaining a seizure-free status and, most interesting, some common comorbid disorders suchas depression and anxiety are, like epilepsy, associated with abnormal neural networks andpoor response to pharmacotherapy. The influence of the psychosocial context on mooddisorders has been extensively recognized. Is it possible that its role in epilepsies has beenunderestimated?