Developments in depression in epilepsy: screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Developments in depression in epilepsy: screening, diagnosis and treatment. Expert Rev Neurother. 2019 Feb 20;: Authors: Mula M Abstract INTRODUCTION: Depression is one of the most frequent comorbidities in epilepsy affecting between 17% and 22% of patients but it is still underdiagnosed and undertreated. Areas covered: This paper discusses recent advances about screening, diagnosis and treatment of depression in epilepsy taking into account the heterogeneity of clinical scenarios where depression can occur. Expert opinion: A number of screening instruments are now validated for adults with epilepsy and their psychometric properties are discussed but the NDDIE is the most practical and cost-effective. Challenges in diagnosing depression in epilepsy are discussed including reasons for the atypical features of mood disorders in epilepsy. Psychological treatments and/or SSRIs are indicated but the level of evidence is still low. Even if there is no reason to hypothesis that internationally accepted guidelines of treatment of depression outside epilepsy may not be valid, rigorous studies are needed in order to have proper outcome measures. Epilepsy centers should have well-defined care pathways for depression in order to provide access to mental health support when needed. PMID: 30784331 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics - Category: Neurology Tags: Expert Rev Neurother Source Type: research