Koreki, Akihiro, Eccles, Jessica, Garfinkel, Sarah, Critchley, Hugo, Cope, Sarah, Agrawal, Niruj, Edwards, Mark and Yogarajah, Mahinda (2022) Hypermobility in patients with functional seizures: toward a pathobiological understanding of complex conditions. Epilepsy and Behavior, 132. a108710. ISSN 1525-5050

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Abstract

Background: Functional seizures (FS), otherwise known as psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), are a common symptom presenting to neurology and epilepsy clinics. There is a pressing need for further research to understand the neurobiology of FS to develop mechanistically targeted treatments. Joint hypermobility is an expression of variation in connective tissue structure along a spectrum, and it has received increasing attention in functional neurological disorders, but there is lack of evidence of its relevance in FS. Methods: In the present study, forty-two patients with FS and a non-clinical comparison group of 34 age/sex-matched controls were recruited. Joint hypermobility of all participants was quantified using the Beighton scale. Results: In our sample, 24 (57%) patients with FS, and 7 (21%) of the comparison group met criteria for joint hypermobility (p = 0.002). Our statistical model revealed that patients with FS showed a significant degree of hypermobility compared to the comparison group (odds ratio = 11.1; Confidence interval: 2.1–78.0, p = 0.008), even after controlling age, sex, anxiety, and depression. Conclusion: We found a significant association between FS and joint hypermobility, which was independent of anxiety and depression.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Functional movement disorder, Functional seizures, Hypermobility, Interoception, PNES
Schools and Departments:	Brighton and Sussex Medical School > Neuroscience
SWORD Depositor:	Mx Elements Account
Depositing User:	Mx Elements Account
Date Deposited:	13 Jun 2022 09:26
Last Modified:	13 Jun 2022 09:30
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/106350

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