Work

Epilepsy With Psychiatric Comorbidities Unveils Prominent Temporal-Lobe MRI Lesions and Elevated Frontotemporal Interictal Discharges

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Psychiatric disorders are common in epilepsy, occurring 2 to 3 times more frequently than in the general population. The authors performed comprehensive assessments in epilepsy patients with psychiatric comorbidities to delineate their psychiatric comorbidities, informing accurate diagnosis and effective management. METHODS: A total of 70 cases were included in the study. Patients were categorized into 2 groups: epilepsy with psychiatric comorbidities and epilepsy without psychiatric comorbidities. In this study, we integrate cognitive function assessments, psychiatric scales measuring anxiety and depression, 24-hour long-term video-electroencephalogram (VEEG) monitoring, and epilepsy-specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. The MRI sequences cover 3D T1-weighted and 3D FLAIR T2 oblique coronal views. RESULTS: Cognitive function scores showed no significant intergroup differences ( P > 0.05). However, patients with psychiatric comorbidities demonstrated a significantly higher prevalence of structural brain abnormalities ( P = 0.008) and increased occurrence of interictal epileptiform discharges ( P = 0.012) compared with epilepsy without psychiatric comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: Epilepsy patients with psychiatric comorbidities demonstrate significantly higher proportion of abnormal brain MRI and EEG findings compared with patients without psychiatric comorbidities. These findings emphasize the necessity for comprehensive evaluations in epilepsy patients particularly those with psychiatric comorbidities.

Source: Journal of Craniofacial Surgery

DOI: 10.1097/scs.0000000000011954

Authors: Yixin Bao, Xiaoling Zhang, Xiaoliang Fei, Xiaoxiang Yu, Mengqi Tang, Chun Sun

Institution: Jiaxing University

Language: English

Topic: Epilepsy research and treatment

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Jiaxing University