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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This article describes the diary of a man from 19th-century England (1829-1834) that documents the onset and course of his wife's epilepsy after a stroke. Her stroke produced aphasia and right hemiparesis, but her epilepsy was the diary's focus and caused the greatest concern. The diary documents the history of her epilepsy in detail. In addition to tonic-clonic seizures, she experienced frequent bouts of status epilepticus and complex partial seizures. The diary contains some of the earliest recorded descriptions of status epilepticus and its aftermath of delirium, mood disorder, and hysteria. It also offers some of the earliest and most detailed accounts of complex partial seizures. Bleeding by cupping was the only symptomatic or prophylactic treatment recorded. These aspects of the diary are presented, as are the historical perspectives on epilepsy, including early beliefs and stigmas, therapeutic remedies, and early European views of epilepsy.
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PMID:A diary of epilepsy in the early 1800s. 1726 88

Subtypes of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) have emerged via classification of seizure semiology, psychological variables, or both. PNES subtypes that differ with respect to etiology may be amenable to targeted treatment strategies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between semiology type and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) profile among patients with PNES. We did so by modifying a classification scheme proposed by Selwa et al. Our main hypothesis was that there would be significant associations of semiology-based subtypes with psychological profiles among patients with PNES. We found significant differences in mean scores on MMPI-2 clinical scales 1 (Hypochondriasis) and 3 (Hysteria) and Harris-Lingoes subscales D5 (Brooding) and Sc5 (Lack of Ego Mastery, Defective Inhibition) across PNES subtypes (catatonic, minor motor, major motor). The results of the present study enhance understanding of the nosology of PNES by identifying psychopathological correlates of semiology-based subtypes of PNES. Our study also may inform the methodology of future investigations of psychopathology among patients with PNES by providing support for content-based interpretation of the MMPI.
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PMID:Relationship between semiology of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory profile. 1760 80

Because of its striking prevalence among females, the paroxysmal disorder presenting with nonepileptic seizures was termed hysteria in premodern times. In our time, the disorder has remained widely misunderstood and mistreated. The diagnostic early history of painful traumatic events as the source of the nonepileptic seizures is hidden by the shame of the victim and remains ignored. Early effective psychotherapeutic intervention is rarely carried out. Antiepileptic treatment is commonly initiated, and tends to worsen the seizure condition, which commonly becomes chronic. Key evidence from our treatment of patients with both epileptic and nonepileptic seizures had shown that low doses of antiepileptic drugs were required, because the patients markedly improved as some epileptic seizures were allowed to occur. This prompted our use of electroconvulsive treatment for a select series of 18 patients with the most severe chronic nonepileptic seizure condition. This treatment proved remarkably effective for 11 of the 15 patients who tolerated the treatment. Together with their seizures, the patients had had bodily pains, depressive moods, and often anxiety. Their disorder can be clearly distinguished from ordinary depression, and the remarkable effect of electroconvulsive treatment in its treatment seems to be in accordance with premodern views of a polarity between the two paroxysmal disorders epilepsy and hysteria. Further studies of our topic are called for.
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PMID:Electroconvulsive treatment for nonepileptic seizure disorders. 1944 43

The distinction between epilepsy and psychogenic non epileptic events or seizures (PNES) has been made since the middle of the first millennium (B.C.) Psychogenic non epileptic seizures (PNES) resemble epileptic seizures presenting as paroxysmal, involuntary, time-limited alterations in behaviour, motor activity, autonomic function, consciousness, or sensation. However, unlike epilepsy, NES do not result from epileptogenic pathology and are not accompanied by an epileptiform pattern during an ictal electroencephalogram (EEG). This article reviews the concept of psychogenic non epileptic events, its contemporary assessment including diagnostic and therapeutic issues, as well as the complexity related to various nosological topics. The PNES are a hallmark of an ancient illness, hysteria, which wanders between the somatoform and the dissociative disorders in the contemporary classification systems. With the availability of video electroencephalography (video-EEG), it has been possible to define more strictly the limits between epileptic and non epileptic disorders, avoiding unnecessary and even iatrogenic and invasive treatments. We also describe the clinical presentation and diagnosis of frontal lobe seizures, especially those that might be mistakenly diagnosed as psychogenic events. The frontal lobes are the largest cortical region from which seizures can arise; complex and/ or bizarre behavioural clinical presentations are frequent. In addition, some patients with epilepsy can also present non epileptic events.
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PMID:[Psychogenic non epileptic events and frontal lobe seizures]. 2121 5

This comparative study explored whether psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are a unique disorder with distinctive personality characteristics or (seen from the personality profile) PNES are allied with the domain of a general functional somatic symptom and syndrome (FSSS). We compared the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) results for 41 patients with newly diagnosed PNES and 43 patients with newly diagnosed insomnia. There were no statistically significant quantitative scoring differences on the main clinical scales, indicating that there is no substantial difference in "personality makeup" between the two groups with a FSSS. Additional subscale analysis indicated that patients with PNES reported significantly more somatic complaints (Hysteria 4) and bizarre sensory experiences (Schizophrenia 6). Further profile analysis revealed that the personality pattern of patients with PNES was characterized by a strong tendency toward "conversion V, a lack of control pattern and less excessive worries" as compared with patients with insomnia. Patients with PNES are characterized by a stronger tendency toward somatization and externalization, which has treatment implications.
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PMID:MMPI-II personality profiles of patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. 2145 May 31

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-second edition (MMPI-2) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) are commonly used in the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) to evaluate personality characteristics and mood-related symptoms in those individuals being evaluated for epileptic seizures (ES) or psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). A direct comparison of these measures through concurrent administration to the same group has not been carried out. Both measures were administered to 40 patients (17 ES and 23 PNES). Logistic regression suggested the optimal predictive model for EMU discharge diagnosis included subscales from each measure, which outperformed either measure separately. Combining the conversion (SOM-C) and health concerns (SOM-H) subscales from the PAI and the hysteria subscale (Hy) from the MMPI-2 resulted in 85% overall classification accuracy, 86.7% sensitivity, and 82.4% specificity. Variability in the literature regarding the predictive utility of these measures may stem from the possibility that they measure different aspects of PNES.
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PMID:Concurrent administration of the MMPI-2 and PAI in a sample of patients with epileptic or non-epileptic seizures: implications for an inpatient epilepsy monitoring unit. 2303 28

"Hysterical" conversion hasn't vanished, and remains a diagnostic, therapeutic and relational challenge for the clinician. Conversion may be associated with organic disease. From the clinical point of view, two subtypes of conversion symptoms, namely psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and functional movement disorders, have been individualized. Physical signs of neurological inconsistency, and classical arguments in favor of a psychological etiology have been recently reevaluated, which allows, along with the progress of neurological investigations, to minimize the rate of misdiagnosis. Functional neuroimaging has shed light on the brain mechanisms involved in conversion phenomena. From a nosological point of view, there is a tension between the whish to "banalize" the conversion symptoms as mere "functional neurological symptoms", which makes easier to communicate the diagnosis to the patient and may remove the stigma from the diagnosis; and the wish of certain authors to "revive" hysteria, emphasizing the core phenomenon of dissociation and its close relationship with trauma. Proposed treatment of conversion disorder are numerous, although poorly evaluated and often insatisfactory, but recent publications insist on the importance of communicating the diagnosis to the patient in a honest, nonjudmental and understandable way, at the earliest phase of the disorder.
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PMID:[Hysterical conversion]. 2322 14

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) suffered from epilepsy. Some type of psychopathology can be found in about 25% of the characters of his novels. Some of them have seizures. In at least five of them Dostoevsky clearly intends them to have epilepsy. Others are more likely to be created as people with hysteria or sometimes, for instance, possession. In this essay an inventory is given by more or less comprehensive quotes of different types of seizures in five novels. The seizures are named in the novels with a varying vocabulary based on the concepts of nosology in the 19th century, the knowledge of Dostoevsky of these concepts, his own experiences, and problems in translation and transliteration. In the discussion, analysis of the role these factors played in the understanding of what Dostoevsky really expressed is given attention. Special attention is given to the so-called ecstatic aura. This element of focal epileptic seizures is so rare that in the past the description of it raised doubts on its existence as such and therefore the embellishment by Dostoevsky, describing his own experience and/or that of his epileptic characters Kirillov and Myshkin. The consequence of this analytic approach, however, should not be losing one's amazement of the genius polyphonic creativity of Dostoevsky to integrate so many profound aspects of the human and especially the Russian soul in the characters of his novels.
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PMID:Epilepsy in Dostoevsky's novels. 2348 2

Nardostachys jatamansi DC. and Selinum vaginatum (Edgew) Cl. are two endemic high altitude Indian medicinal plants that have been traditionally known as "Jatamansi" and "Bhootkeshi," respectively. These are used in various traditional herbal formulations and nutraceuticals, as well as to treat neurological disorders like epilepsy, hysteria, syncope, convulsions, and mental weakness. They resemble each other in their external morphological characters and characteristic odour, so their roots are often confused with each other. Since free radicals have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a considerable range of neurological disorders, including seizures and epilepsy, analysis of these two important medicinal plants was carried out based on their antioxidant activities and phenolic profiles. N. jatamansi expressed better antioxidant activity with both DPPH and TAC methods. Strong correlation was seen between TPC and antioxidant activities. Phenolic compounds such as chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, protocatechuic acid, and syringic acid were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in the methanol extracts of N. jatamansi and S. vaginatum by HPLC. N. jatamansi was found to contain only protocatechuic and syringic acids while chlorogenic and ferulic acids were present only in S. vaginatum. The studies suggest that both of the plants exhibit distinctive properties and that their similar therapeutic uses may be dependent on synergistic effects exhibited by the different compounds present in them.
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PMID:An important Indian traditional drug of ayurveda jatamansi and its substitute bhootkeshi: chemical profiling and antioxidant activity. 2357 15

This essay offers a reassessment of Teresa's severe seizures which were such a characteristic feature of her mysticism. The diagnosis of hysteria is no longer viable, at the very least given its abandonment by clinicians. An alternative analysis is developed by phenomenologically comparing Teresa's seizures to parallel experiences of subjects in LSD-assisted psychotherapy. Using Stanislav Grof's categories, it is argued that Teresa's seizures are perinatal symptoms. As such, they represent the emergence and reintegration of extremely primitive psychological systems and might be described as the growing pains of transpersonal consciousness. They reflect not degenerative psychopathology but progressive movement toward higher states of consciousness.
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PMID:A reappraisal of Teresa of Avila's supposed hysteria. 2430 75


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