Minimum requirements for the diagnosis of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: A staged approach

The Diagnosis of Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures

About 25% of patients seen in epilepsy clinics and monitoring units who do not respond to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have received a misdiagnosis.1-3 The eventual diagnosis for most of these patients will be psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (PNES)1,4-a somatoform conversion disorder. It is treatable, but diagnosis, delivery of the diagnosis, and management present significant challenges. A majo...

Psychogenic (nonepileptic) seizures.

Psychogenic (nonepileptic) seizures are among the most common and serious of all psychogenic neurological disorders. They account for approximately 20% of all intractable seizure disorders referred to comprehensive epilepsy centers and present with a reported annual incidence of approximately 4% that of true epilepsy. These events are serious and disabling. Indeed, compared with patients with t...

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures

Pyschogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are common and potentially harmful – both physically and emotionally – events. They are often under or misdiagnosed. Not only neurologists managing epilepsy, but also generalists and ER physicians should be aware of its existence, preventing unnecessary tests, as well as, iatrogenic interventions. The assistance provided to these patients is often inadeq...

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures: A Treatment

showed there were 96 articles published on the topic during the 1980s, 243 articles published during the 1990s, and 426 articles published during the 2000s. This growing interest in the topic has propelled a renewed enthusiasm in Table 1 Limitations in the conduction of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) clinical trials9,14,40–42 Limitations Obstacles intrinsic to PNES psychopathology • E...

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: a new direction.