The comorbidity of epilepsy and depression: diagnosis and treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Depression can seriously affect the quality of life of epileptic patients and can even lead to suicide. Understanding the regularity, prevention and treatment of depression in patients with epilepsy (PWE) contributes to the improvement of their quality of life. Areas covered: In this paper, we retrospectively analyzed the relevant literature on the pathogenesis, related factors, clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of depression in PWE. A literature search utilized the PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar databases. Expert commentary: PWE often have depression, which can be the result of seizures, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) or social-demographic factors. It needs to be better understood, and the diagnosis should be more comprehensive for early treatment.