RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Stress and epilepsy: fact or fiction, and what can we do about it?
JF Practical Neurology
JO Pract Neurol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 270
OP 278
DO 10.1136/practneurol-2015-001337
VO 16
IS 4
A1 Clare M Galtrey
A1 Marco Mula
A1 Hannah R Cock
YR 2016
UL http://pn.bmj.com/content/16/4/270.abstract
AB People with epilepsy report that stress is their most common trigger for seizures and some believe it caused their epilepsy in the first place. The extensive preclinical, epidemiological and clinical studies examining the link between stress and epilepsy have given confusing results; the clinical studies in particular are fraught with confounders. However stress is clearly bad for health, and we now have substantial preclinical evidence suggesting that chronic stress worsens epilepsy; in selected cases it may even be a causal factor for epilepsy. Healthcare professionals working with people with epilepsy should pay more attention to stress in clinical practice. This review includes some practical advice and guidance for stress screening and management.