During the past few weeks I worked on my first feature for Neurology Now magazine. I have done shorter articles and reviews for the magazine in the past, but this is my first longer feature. (I write both long and brief articles for Neurology Today frequently, but that publication goes to the physicians and Neurology Now is for the patients.)
I relished the change/challenge for several reasons, including the longer article length and the target audience specifications. Of course, the tone I use when writing for the two different audiences differs, and I find that I'm naturally stronger at writing with the tone/style appropriate for patients. But the primary reason I enjoyed writing this feature so much was because of the fascinating subject: psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES).
Ok, ok, some people may not find it very interesting. But I guarantee you patients with PNES and physicians do. And don't dismiss the topic before learning at least a little about it...which is why below, I'm presenting a brief summary of my article. Then, if you're so inclined, you can read the entire article that I am posting to the right under Neurology Now.
Epilepsy is diagnosed after someone has at least two seizures. While there are many types of seizures, basically they are all caused by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain. But PNES are not caused by these discharges. Instead, they have a psychological origin, usually caused by subconscious, traumatic stressors like sexual/physical abuse or death of a loved one. Their outward symptoms, however, resemble epileptic seizures.
Because it's not epilepsy, this disorder won't respond to typical epilepsy treatment. One of the obstacles patients face is simply getting diagnosed correctly, though; many patients are diagnosed with refractory epilepsy (a type that is uncontrolled by medicine), and it can take over 7 years for the correct diagnosis. But even then, many patients are at least initially resistant to the diagnosis because they can't accept that the problem is psychological rather than physical.
Treatment primarily includes forms of psychotherapy, and some patients do find that their seizures disappear. Yet there's still much unknown about the disorder, and there is currently ongoing research to determine ideal treatments.
I wish I could have written more in the article, but there is a word limit! I'll be eager to follow the research completed in this area. And this topic has also gotten me interested in other types of psychogenic disorders.
As it will be a while until the article is published and made available online, I'm attaching an uploaded Word document of the article to the right under the Neurology Now column. When the magazine Web site eventually uploads the article, I'll add that link.
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