Lithium therapy in comorbid temporal lobe epilepsy and cycloid psychosis

Abstract

The treatment of post-ictal psychosis has foundered on uncertainty in diagnosis of psychotic phenotypes, and equivocal efficacy of first and second generation antipsychotics. This article presents a case history of comorbid temporal lobe epilepsy and psychosis, suggests the applicability of the continental, cycloid psychosis diagnostic conceptualization to postictal psychoses, and demonstrates the efficacy of lithium in their treatment. Clinical studies of comorbidity of epilepsy and psychosis offer great potential as a basis for modelling brain-mind relationships, and neuropsychiatric nosology, pathophysiology and treatment.