Epilepsy and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: An overview of etiology, prevalence, and treatment

Abstract

Epilepsy and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are closely connected and commonly seen in both children and adults. Each of the disorders has major psychosocial and quality of life (QOL) effects, and their co-occurrence makes coping even more challenging for both the patients and their families. Moreover, an adverse effect of some anti-seizure medications can potentially induce or exacerbate symptoms of ADHD on the one hand, while some ADHD medications may increase seizure risk on the other. The combination of proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment may improve or even prevent many of the complications associated with these conditions. The objectives of this review are to present the complex relationship between epilepsy and ADHD, looking into the pathophysiological, anatomical, and functional perspectives along with the psychosocial and QOL influences and the recommended treatment approaches in accordance with the latest literature.

Hippocampal ΔFosB expression is associated with cognitive impairment in a subgroup of patients with childhood epilepsies

“…While etiology of epilepsy was unclear for the majority of cases in this study, there were patients who received clinical diagnoses that have known associations with seizures, including encephalitis ( 26 , 27 ), tumor ( 28 , 29 ), infarction ( 30 , 31 ), focal cortical dysplasia ( 32 , 33 ), and Sturge-Weber syndrome ( 34 , 35 ). In addition, 24.2% (8/33) of the patients had psychiatric diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with one patient also having Asperger's syndrome, which are comorbidities that have bidirectional relationships with epilepsy ( 36 – 39 ). 30.3% of patients (10/33) did not have additional neuropathological or psychiatric diagnoses.…”

Comorbidity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a patient with epilepsy: Staring down the challenge of inattention versus nonconvulsive seizures

“…When significant behavioral side effects are encountered with Levetiracetam, several cohorts of both children and adults have demonstrated efficacy of Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) in reducing psychobehavioral symptoms [49] , [50] , [51] . Many antiseizure medications do not have sufficient data for or against exacerbation of symptoms of ADHD which may prompt additional study such as the following: Cenobamate, Retigabine, Stiripentol, and Tiagabine [25] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] . Our findings based on this literature review are summarized in Table 3 .…”