Study of psychiatric symptoms after discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs

Abstract

We studied 23 patients with epilepsy and a hallucinatory delusional state (group A) or other psychotic symptoms (group B) in whom antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were successfully discontinued. Patients in group A had an earlier age at onset of both epilepsy and psychotic symptoms than those in group B. Both groups had similar seizure frequency and duration of AED therapy. The psychotic symptoms in group A patients started at the age 20.8 years and lasted longer than in group B patients; and antipsychotic drug treatment was generally effective, but the social adaptation (work/personal life) of the patients was poor. We considered that group A patients had schizophrenia rather than mere recurrence of epileptic psychosis.