Functional Seizures Linked to Stroke, Psychiatric Disorders
by Colleen Fleiss on
January 11, 2021 at 11:30 PM
A new study has confirmed associations between functional seizures and psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and sexual assault trauma.
The research was carried by Lea Davis, PhD, associate professor of Medicine and an investigator in the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute and team.
In a large-scale study of electronic health records, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined the prevalence of functional seizures and characterized comorbidities associated with them.
‘A novel association between functional seizures and cerebrovascular disease, including stroke has been identified.
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Functional seizures are sudden attacks or spasms that look like epileptic seizures but do not have the aberrant brain electrical patterns of epilepsy.