Journal of Epilepsy
Volume 11, Issue 6 , Pages 332-334, November 1998

Patient reporting of seizure exacerbation near the time of menses helps distinguish epileptic from nonepileptic seizures

  • Alan B. Ettinger

      Affiliations

    • From the Department of Neurology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, U.S.A.
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence and reprint requests to Alan B. Ettinger, M.D., Epilepsy Management Program, Department of Neurology, Health Sciences Center T12-020, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8121, U.S.A.
    • ,
  • Deborah M. Weisbrot

      Affiliations

    • From the Epilepsy Management Program, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, U.S.A.
    • ,
  • Orrin Devinsky

      Affiliations

    • From the Department of Neurology and the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, New York University School of Medicine, Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopaedic Institute, New York, NY, U.S.A.

Received 4 June 1998; accepted 17 July 1998.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient reporting of a relationship between seizure exacerbation and menses helps distinguish premenopausal women with epileptic seizures from those with nonepileptic seizures (NES). We reviewed the responses to the question “What tends to bring on your seizures?”, administered during the initial evaluation of women ages 18–45 years with epileptic seizures (n = 27) and NES (n = 38) at our outpatient clinic. Only one out of 38 women with NES versus 13 of 27 women with epilepsy reported a relationship of seizures with the menstrual cycle (p = .0001). Other precipitants identified for seizure exacerbation such as stress, or emotional upset, did not distinguish these two groups. Patient reporting of a relationship between seizure exacerbation and menses can help distinguish epileptic from NES in premenopausal women.

Key words: Nonepileptic seizures, Epilepsy, Menstrual cycle, Seizure, Pseudoseizures

No full text is available. To read the body of this article, please view the PDF online.

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: S0896-6974(98)00039-5

doi:10.1016/S0896-6974(98)00039-5

Journal of Epilepsy
Volume 11, Issue 6 , Pages 332-334, November 1998

Article Tools