Eventi psicotici in corso di epilessia

A lot of studies reported an higher risk of psychotic events in people with epilepsy when compared to people without. Psychotic events during epilepsy have to be diagnosed and clarified on the basis of the temporal relation between their onset and the occurrence of the seizure. Six different groups are identified: ictal psychosis, post-ictal psychosis, para-ictal psychosis, forced normalization psychosis, drug induced psychosis and inter-ictal psychosis. Clinical pictures, drug treatment and possible pathogenetic link to epilepsy are reported, taking into consideration the available data in the literature. The paper shows that psychosis in epilepsy has a very different clinical meaning and outcome in respect to psychotic events in people without seizures, as it does not represent a chronic disease and does not cause loss of skills. An appropriate diagnosis is necessary to establish the pharmacological therapy, mainly based on antiepilepstic treatment adjustment