CONy 2022 | The ethics of provoking psychogenic seizures as a diagnostic tool

William Curt LaFrance Jr • 28 Mar 2022

CONy 2022

General

William Curt LaFrance Jr, MD, MPH, FAAN, FANPA, DFAPA, Brown University, Providence, RI, discusses the ethical considerations of inducing seizures to diagnose psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). In a survey of over 400 clinicians worldwide, 72% agreed with the efficacy of provoke psychogenic seizures as a diagnostic tool, due to the quicker and more accurate nature of the method. Manipulating seizures can also shorten hospital stays, especially in patients who might not have an episode during monitoring. This interview was conducted during the 2022 World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) meeting.

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.