Publications by authors named "L D'Alessio"
Article Synopsis
- Functional/dissociative seizures (FDS), also known as psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), involve involuntary physical or cognitive changes and are linked to psychological trauma, particularly sexual abuse (SA).
- In a study of 45 women with FDS, it was found that 80% had experienced trauma, and 40% specifically had a history of SA, which correlated with an earlier onset of seizures and increased risk of PTSD and suicide attempts.
- The findings highlight the importance of recognizing the impact of sexual abuse on the mental health of women with FDS, emphasizing that mental health professionals should incorporate trauma histories into their care strategies.
Purpose: To analyze patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy from temporal (TLE) and extra-temporal origin (ETE) and to compare the prevalence of psychiatric comorbid disorders and impulsivity between them and a control group.
Methods: Consecutively studied patients with TLE and ETE confirmed with Video-EEG were included. Standardized psychiatric assessment was conducted using the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I and II diagnosis of DSM-IV (SCID I-II), the Barrat-11 scale for impulsivity, and Beck inventory for depression.
Ethanol (EtOH) intake and noise exposure are particularly concerning among human adolescents because the potential to harm brain. Unfortunately, putative underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Moreover, implementing non-pharmacological strategies, such as enriched environments (EE), would be pertinent in the field of neuroprotection.
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- The study explored childhood environments and stress-coping strategies in three patient groups: those with functional dissociative seizures (FDS), drug-resistant epilepsy without psychiatric issues (DREnc), and drug-resistant epilepsy with psychiatric issues (DREpc).
- Results indicated that negative maternal responses were linked to higher FDS probabilities, while chaotic family environments increased the likelihood of psychiatric comorbidity in DRE patients. Additionally, DREpc and FDS patients used different coping strategies compared to DREnc, who mainly focused on problem-solving.
- The findings suggest that invalidating environments can predict FDS and psychiatric disorders in epilepsy, highlighting the need for psychotherapeutic interventions that address these social and psychological