Self-control of epileptic seizures by nonpharmacological strategies

Iliana Kotwas, Aileen McGonigal, Agnès Trebuchon, Mireille Bastien-Toniazzo, Yoko Nagai, Fabrice Bartolomei, Jean-Arthur Micoulaud-Franchi
Epilepsy & Behavior. 2016-02-01; 55: 157-164
DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2015.12.023

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1. Epilepsy Behav. 2016 Feb;55:157-64. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2015.12.023. Epub 2016
Jan 16.

Self-control of epileptic seizures by nonpharmacological strategies.

Kotwas I(1), McGonigal A(2), Trebuchon A(2), Bastien-Toniazzo M(1), Nagai Y(3),
Bartolomei F(2), Micoulaud-Franchi JA(4).

Author information:
(1)Laboratoire Parole et Langage UMR 7309, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille,
France.
(2)Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de la
Timone, 264, Rue Saint-Pierre, 13005 Marseille, France; Unité Mixte INSERM
Epilepsie et Cognition UMR 751, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05,
France.
(3)Psychiatry, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, UK;
Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Institute of Neurology,
University College London, UK.
(4)Service d’Explorations Fonctionnelles du Système Nerveux, Clinique du Sommeil,
CHU de Bordeaux, Place Amélie Raba-Léon, 33076 Bordeaux, France; USR CNRS 3413
SANPSY, CHU Pellegrin, Université de Bordeaux, France.

Despite the unpredictability of epileptic seizures, many patients report that
they can anticipate seizure occurrence. Using certain alert symptoms (i.e.,
auras, prodromes, precipitant factors), patients can adopt behaviors to avoid
injury during and after the seizure or may implement spontaneous cognitive and
emotional strategies to try to control the seizure itself. From the patient’s
view point, potential means of enhancing seizure prediction and developing
seizure control supports are seen as very important issues, especially when the
epilepsy is drug-resistant. In this review, we first describe how some patients
anticipate their seizures and whether this is effective in terms of seizure
prediction. Secondly, we examine how these anticipatory elements might help
patients to prevent or control their seizures and how the patient’s
neuropsychological profile, specifically parameters of perceived self-control
(PSC) and locus of control (LOC), might impact these strategies and quality of
life (QOL). Thirdly, we review the external supports that can help patients to
better predict seizures. Finally, we look at nonpharmacological means of
increasing perceived self-control and achieving potential reduction of seizure
frequency (i.e., stress-based and arousal-based strategies). In the past few
years, various approaches for detection and control of seizures have gained
greater interest, but more research is needed to confirm a positive effect on
seizure frequency as well as on QOL.

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2015.12.023
PMID: 26780213 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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