Influence of an Evacuation in February 1995 in The Netherlands on the Seizure Frequency in Patients with Epilepsy: A Controlled Study

Swinkels, W. A. M.; Engelsman, Martijn; Trenité, Dorothee Kasteleijn‐Nolst; Baal, M. G.; Haan, Gerrit-Jan de; Oosting, J.

doi:10.1111/j.1528-1157.1998.tb01312.x

Cited by 58 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Neufeld et al (1994) investigated the emotional stress of the 1991 Persian Gulf War on Israelis with epilepsy and found a weak link between stress and seizure frequency; however, this study lacked a control population. Swinkels et al (1998) examined the effect of a controlled evacuation from a flooded area in The Netherlands on patients with epilepsy, using nonevacuee patients as controls, and found a strong relationship between the stressful situation and the frequency of seizures in the evacuated patients. Similarly, Bosnjak et al (2002) compared children with epilepsy during the 1991-1992 Croatian war with children with epilepsy from nonwar-affected areas and found a strong link between stress and seizure frequency.…”

Section: Human Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress and Epilepsy: Multiple Models, Multiple Outcomes

Sawyer

Escayg

2010

Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology

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Human studies show a link between stress and epilepsy, with stress causing an increase in seizure frequency and severity in patients with epilepsy. Many different animal model systems have been used to better understand this connection and the possible mechanisms involved. This review highlights the results of such studies relating stress and seizure susceptibility, with a focus on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and its relationship to seizure generation. The effects of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis mediators, acute stress, chronic stress, and early life stress on the seizure phenotype are summarized. Results suggest that stress has both anticonvulsive and proconvulsive properties, depending on the animal strain and the stress/seizure induction paradigm used. Attempts to interpret the stress-epilepsy literature must take these variables into account. The growing availability of genetically modified mice that carry either human epilepsy mutations or mutations in stress pathway genes now provide the opportunity to examine the relationship between stress and epilepsy more directly.

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Section: Human Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress and Epilepsy: Multiple Models, Multiple Outcomes

Sawyer

Escayg

2010

Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology

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“…The authors note that the increased seizure frequency was related to disturbances in waking and sleeping in war-affected regions [30], which is consistent with the impact of stress on seizure susceptibility but may also confound interpretation of these findings. Seizure frequency is also increased in association with the stress of a natural disaster [32]. Swinkels et al evaluated seizure frequency in flood-affected regions in the Netherlands in 1995 compared to regions unaffected by the floods [32].…”

Section: Stress and Epilepsymentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress, seizures, and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis targets for the treatment of epilepsy

Maguire

Salpekar

2013

Epilepsy & Behavior

136

107

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Epilepsy is a heterogeneous condition with multiple etiologies including genetics, infection, trauma, vascular, neoplasms, and toxic exposures. The overlap of psychiatric comorbidity adds to the challenge of optimal treatment for people with epilepsy. Seizure episodes themselves may have varying triggers; however, for decades, stress has been commonly and consistently suspected to be a trigger for seizure events. This paper explores the relationship between stress and seizures and reviews clinical data as well as animal studies that increasingly corroborate the impact of stress hormones on neuronal excitability and seizure susceptibility. The basis for enthusiasm for targeting glucocorticoid receptors for the treatment of epilepsy and the mixed results of such treatment efforts are reviewed. In addition, this paper will highlight recent findings identifying a regulatory pathway controlling the body’s physiologic response to stress which represents a novel therapeutic target for modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Thus, the HPA axis may have important clinical implications for seizure control and imply use of anticonvulsants that influence this neuronal pathway.

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“…In questionnaire studies, stress is endorsed as a trigger, or precipitant, by more than 50% of people with epilepsy [20,23], while major life events are associated with seizure exacerbation in 8% to 50% of patients [6,12,24,25]. In prospective diary studies, both daily stress and stressful life events have been linked to increased seizure frequency [7,13,17,26,27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%