WebMD Medical News Laura J. Martin, MD Sept. 6, 2011 -- Seizures
or attacks caused by psychological issues may be especially
difficult to diagnose in veterans, according to a new study.
Researchers found veterans with these seizures, called
psychogenic or non-epileptic seizures, often wait many years
longer than civilians for proper diagnosis and treatment. Unlike
epileptic seizures, which are caused by a neurological disorder,
psychogenic seizures are caused by psychological issues.
Veterans with psychogenic seizures were often four times more
likely than civilians to be given seizure medications designed
to treat epilepsy until a correct diagnosis was made. “People
with psychogenic seizures are often diagnosed with epilepsy and
given drugs to treat epilepsy that do not help and can have
serious side effects,” researcher Martin Salinsky, MD, of the
Portland VA Medical Center and Oregon Health and Sciences
University, says in a news release. “The two types of seizures
can be similar in appearance and diagnosi