Depression in patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the comorbidity of depressive disorders in patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).

METHOD: We evaluated 25 consecutive patients with refractory TLE (16 women and 9 men), using semi-structured psychiatric interviews, according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), and the Beck Depression Inventory.

RESULTS

Seventeen of 25 patients (68%) had depressive disorder: 6 with dysthymia, three with major depressive episodes and 8 with recurrent depressive disorders. Two (8%) were diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depression. Only 5 of 17 patients (29.4%) were previously diagnosed with depressive disorder and received prior antidepressant treatment. Duration of epilepsy was significantly higher in patients with depressive disorder (p=0.016), but there was no relationship between depression and seizure frequency.

CONCLUSION

This study confirmed that depressive disorders are common and underdiagnosed in patients with TLE refractory to AEDs. Patients with longer duration of epilepsy are at higher risk of having depression.