Abstract

MENDOZA BERMUDEZ, Constanza  and  GOMEZ ARIAS, Bety. Psychosis in Epilepsy. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2009, vol.38, n.4, pp.739-760. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: Psychotic syndromes are frequently seen in the course of epilepsy, either during the seizures or during the period following them. This is especially associated with poor symptomatic control, refractivity, and change or discontinuation of the anticonvulsive treatment. It has also been described after temporal lobectomy prescribed to control it. Objective: To describe general aspects, classification, clinical features, and treatment of psychosis associated with epilepsy. Method: Relevant data research in several data bases. Results and Conclusions: Epileptic psychosis produces greater morbidity in epileptic patients that might lead to psychiatric hospitalizations, lengthening the time of neurological internment and a more complex use of the pharmacological treatment. There are ictal, interictal and postictal psychosis, along with forced normalization and post-surgery psychosis, the latter two with a lower prevalence. Epileptic psychosis might share some aspects of psychiatric disorders such as mania and schizophrenia. In this case, the clinician must make a better assessment of the findings in relation to the seizures to ensure an adequate diagnosis and treatment that generally requires the intervention of both the fields of psychiatry and neurology.

Keywords : Psychotic disorders; epilepsy; psychiatry; neurology.

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