HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Jackson, M J Articles by Turkington, D Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Jackson, M J Articles by Turkington, D

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN EPILEPSY

¹ Department of Neurology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
² Department of Psychiatry, Royal Victoria Infirmary

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Margaret J Jackson
Department of Neurology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP, UK; margaret.jackson@ncl.ac.uk

Keywords: anxiety; depression; epilepsy

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Epilepsy, anxiety, and depression are all common disorders. It is therefore not surprising that the conditions coexist in a significant number of patients. Indeed, some authors estimate the lifetime prevalence of depression in association with epilepsy to be as high as 55%. Despite this there has been remarkably little research into the mechanism of depression and anxiety in epilepsy, and even less of its treatment. Most epilepsy clinics are overloaded with referrals and the consultation naturally tends to focus on the patient’s seizures and treatment thereof; but it is vitally important that doctors treating people with epilepsy are able to recognise the symptoms of anxiety and, in particular, those of depression. Depression lowers quality of life significantly yet it is an eminently treatable condition. Depression can directly increase seizure frequency through the mechanism of sleep deprivation; failure to recognise depression or inadequate treatment can lead to suicide. Depression also often . . . [Full text of this article]