AAN 2022 | Issues concerning the treatment of PNES
William Curt LaFrance Jr, MD MPH, FAAN, FANPA, DFAPA, Brown University, Providence, RI, discusses issues concerning the treatment of patients with functional neurological disorders (FDNs). Prof. LaFrance describes that many patients diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) have already been on a number of treatments for what was presumed to be epilepsy. These individuals would have been treated with anti-seizure medications that do not help patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Similarly, typical movement drugs used in Parkinson’s disease or dystonia do not help individuals with functional motor disorders. Prof. LaFrance describes that many patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures have comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Treating those disorders with the appropriate psychotropic medication, coupled with the appropriate psychotherapy, can help patients from a pharmacological perspective. This interview took place at the American Academy of Neurology 2022 Congress in Seattle, WA.
Disclosures
Dr. LaFrance has served on the editorial boards of Epilepsia, Epilepsy & Behavior; Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, and Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences; receives editor’s royalties from the publication of Gates and Rowan’s Nonepileptic Seizures, 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and 4th ed. (2018); author’s royalties for Taking Control of Your Seizures: Workbook and Therapist Guide (Oxford University Press, 2015); has received research support from the Department of Defense (DoD W81XWH-17-0169), NIH (NINDS 5K23NS45902 [PI]), Providence VAMC, Center for Neurorestoration and Neurorehabilitation, Rhode Island Hospital, the American Epilepsy Society (AES), the Epilepsy Foundation (EF), Brown University and the Siravo Foundation; serves on the Epilepsy Foundation New England Professional Advisory Board, the Board of the Functional Neurological Disorder Society, and on the Council of the American Neuropsychiatric Association; has received honoraria for the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting Annual Course; has served as a clinic development consultant at University of Colorado Denver, Cleveland Clinic, Spectrum Health, Emory University, and Oregon Health Sciences University; and has provided medico-legal expert testimony.
