Individuals suffering from psychogenic nonepileptic seizures with posttraumatic stress disorder have significant verbal and visual memory impairments, and a greater likelihood of a history of substance abuse than individuals without PTSD, even if those individuals have a history of trauma, investigators have found in a case-control study.
“Up to 90% of patients with PNESs [psychogenic nonepileptic seizures] have been reported to have histories of significant traumatic experiences, with particularly high instances of childhood sexual and physical abuse, compared with control groups and the general population,” wrote Lorna Myers, Ph.D., of the Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group, New York, and her associates.
Those with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and PTSD had the highest rates of psychiatric medication use, substance abuse, history of rape, and history of physical abuse, compared with individuals who had psychogenic nonepileptic seizures without a diagnosis of PTSD but with a history of trauma, and individuals with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and no history of trauma, according to the study (Epilepsy & Behavior 2014;37:82-6).
Investigators for the study – which enrolled 17 people with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and PTSD, 29 people with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and a history of trauma but no PTSD, and 17 individuals with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures but no PTSD or trauma history – also found that those with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and PTSD scored lowest in delayed narrative memory, and showed the highest scores for self-perceived verbal memory, visuospatial memory, and overall Memory Complaints Inventory.
Dr. Myers and her associates cited several limitations. For example, they did not collect data on the patients’ ethnic or racial backgrounds, which suggests that information on “PNES pathology and neuropsychological functions” might have been missed.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.