HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

Correspondence to:

ARTICLES: Sheryl R. Haut, Charles B. Hall, Aaron J. LeValley, and Richard B. Lipton Can patients with epilepsy predict their seizures? Neurology 2007; 68: 262-266 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

Correspondence: Submit a response to this article

Correspondence published:

Can patients with epilepsy predict their seizures?

Marco Mula, M.D., Francesco Monaco, M.D.   (1 April 2007)

Reply from the Authors

Sheryl R. Haut, Charles B. Hall, Aaron J. LeValley, and Richard B. Lipton   (1 April 2007)

Can patients with epilepsy predict their seizures? 1 April 2007
Marco Mula, M.D., The Neuropsychiatry Research Group, Department of Neurology, Amedeo Avogadro University C.so Mazzini, 18, 28100 Novara, Italy, Francesco Monaco, M.D. Send Correspondence to journal: Re: Can patients with epilepsy predict their seizures? marcomula{at}yahoo.it Marco Mula, M.D., et al.	We read the paper by Haut et al with great interest. [1] The authors report on the ability of some patients with epilepsy to predict the occurrence of their seizures. As suggested by the authors, this ability may rely on prodromes or warning and initial symptoms. Preictal dysphoria is a phenomenon well described by patients and their relatives, but the frequency, duration and clinical features have been only occasionally investigated. The last systematic study specifically dedicated to this subject was published in 1986. [2] It is evident that mood changes preceding the occurrence of seizures represent a neglected area of research in epileptology and neuropsychiatry of epilepsy that, conversely, may have important clinical implications. Research concerning seizure-alerting dogs is also of interest. [3] It is possible that this phenomenon could be interlinked with preictal dysphoria--that dogs' behaviors are influenced by specific mood changes of the owner occurring in the preictal phase. It is now accepted that the end of the seizure is not the end of the problem [4], but what precedes the seizure can be equally interesting. References 1. Haut SR, Hall CB, LeValley AJ, Lipton RB. Can patients with epilepsy predict their seizures? Neurology 2007;68:262-266. 2. Blanchet P, Frommer GP. Mood change preceding epileptic seizures. J Nerv Ment Dis 1986;174: 471–476. 3. Strong V, Brown SW, Walker R. Seizure-alert dogs: fact or fiction? Seizure 1999;8:62-65. 4. Kanner AM, Soto A, Gross-Kanner H. Prevalence and clinical characteristics of postictal psychiatric symptoms in partial epilepsy. Neurology. 2004;62:708-713. Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Reply from the Authors 1 April 2007
Sheryl R. Haut, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center, 111 East 210th St., Bronx, NY 10467, Charles B. Hall, Aaron J. LeValley, and Richard B. Lipton Send Correspondence to journal: Re: Reply from the Authors haut{at}aecom.yu.edu Sheryl R. Haut, et al.	We appreciate the interesting comments by Drs. Mula and Monaco. The role of mood changes preceding a seizure is an intriguing issue that has received little recent attention. We agree that the ability of patients to successfully predict their seizures may well be related, at least in part, to the emotional content of the pre-ictal phase. Certainly this is an area of investigation that merits prospective evaluation, and one that we plan to incorporate in our follow up studies. Furthermore, the possible connection of mood changes preceding a seizure and the abilities of seizure-alert dogs is intriguing and biologically plausible. Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.