Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Patients with Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures

These symptoms sometimes developed after PNES diagnosis but were not associated with cessation of PNES.

Population studies show that the incidence of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) ranges from 1.4 to 3.0 events per 100,000 persons (Eur Neurol 2004; 51:153); in the U.S., PNES afflict an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people (Seizure 1998; 7:385). In clinical practice, patients whose PNES have ceased sometimes develop other medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), the vast majority of which (e.g., pain, tension headaches, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome) are psychogenic. To determine how frequently patients with PNES develop new MUS after PNES diagnosis and whether MUS development is associated with cessation of PNES, researchers studied 187 consecutive patients for 6 to 12 months after PNES diagnosis.

The percentage of patients with…

Reviewing Author

Jaime Toro, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsMultiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

Jaime Toro, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsMultiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Patients with Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures

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Reviewing Author