Akihiro Koreki1, Jessica Eccles2, Sarah Garfinkel3, Hugo Critchley2, Sarah Cope4, Niruj Agrawal4, Mark Edwards5, Mahinda Yogarajah6. 1. Neurosciences Research Centre, St George's University of London, London, UK; Department of Psychiatry, National Hospital Organization Shimofusa Psychiatric Medical Center, Chiba, Japan. 2. Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Sussex University, UK. 3. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL, UK. 4. Atkinson Morley Regional Neuroscience Centre, St George's Hospital, London, UK. 5. Neurosciences Research Centre, St George's University of London, London, UK; Atkinson Morley Regional Neuroscience Centre, St George's Hospital, London, UK. 6. Neurosciences Research Centre, St George's University of London, London, UK; Atkinson Morley Regional Neuroscience Centre, St George's Hospital, London, UK; Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Institute of Neurology, UCL, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH, Epilepsy Society, UK. Electronic address: m.yogarajah@ucl.ac.uk.
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.
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.