[Frontal lobe epilepsy or a psychogenic disorder? The importance of taking a good patient history].

Background: Frontal lobe epilepsy (FE) is a diagnosis which can be easily missed due to the variety in symptoms. The symptoms depend on the location of the epileptical activity in the frontal lobe.

Case Description: A 48-year-old man of Moroccan descent is diagnosed with frontal epilepsy, but this diagnosis is rejected based on the 24-hours EEG.

Updated European Consensus Statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD.

Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood that often persists into adulthood and old age. Yet ADHD is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated in many European countries, leading to chronicity of symptoms and impairment, due to lack of, or ineffective treatment, and higher costs of illness. Methods The European Network Adult ADHD and the Section for Neurodevelopmental Disorders Across the Lifespan (NDAL) of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), aim to increase awareness and knowledge of adult ADHD in and outside Europe.

European consensus statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD: The European Network Adult ADHD.

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood that persists into adulthood in the majority of cases. The evidence on persistence poses several difficulties for adult psychiatry considering the lack of expertise for diagnostic assessment, limited treatment options and patient facilities across Europe.

Methods: The European Network Adult ADHD, founded in 2003, aims to increase awareness of this disorder and improve knowledge and patient care for adults with ADHD across Europe.

Manic episode, thyroid gland function and lithium.

This paper addresses the issue of (recurrent) mania in relation to an increased T4-value, whether or not influenced by lithium. Lithium has an anti-TSH-effect on the thyroid gland by inhibiting the intracellular enzyme adenylate cyclase. This might cause hypothyroidism.

Overt hepatic encephalopathy precipitated by zinc deficiency.

Encephalopathy in liver disease may be unresponsive to protein restriction, lactulose, and neomycin. Zinc supplements have been reported to improve psychometric performance in liver cirrhosis, but the importance of zinc deficiency in overt hepatic encephalopathy has not yet been clearly established. A patient with severe recurrent hepatic encephalopathy was studied to determine the relation between her signs of encephalopathy and zinc deficiency.