Abstract
Forced normalization (FN) is a well known phenomenon of acute psychosis accompanying
seizure control. An 11-year-old boy with intractable myoclonic epilepsy and severe
psychomotor delay experienced FN during medication of ethosuximide. Although his myoclonic
seizures were completely controlled, behavioral changes, more of the manic type, became
evident. EEG during this phenomenon showed almost normal findings. Generally, withdrawal
of anti-epileptic drugs in patients with FN is still controversial and much debated.
We could conclude that the physician should judge comprehensively the treatment considering
the more favorable situation for the patient and the family.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Brain and DevelopmentAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Reversible disability associated with epilepsy.Brain Dev. 1999; 21: 82-85
- Some clinical electroencephalographical correlations in epileptic psychoses (twilight states).Electroenceph Clin Neurophysiol. 1953; 5: 121
- Acute behavioral symptomatology at disappearance of epileptiform EEG abnormality. Paradoxical or ‘forced’ normalization.Adv Neurol. 1991; 55: 127-142
- Biological antagonism and epileptic psychosis.Br J Psychiatry. 1985; 146: 272-276
- Paradoxical normalization in childhood epilepsy.Epilepsia. 1994; 35: 1060-1064
- Psychotic symptoms in childhood epilepsy -an electroencephalohraphic study.Folia Psychiatry Neurol Jpn. 1983; 37: 239-244
- Forced normalization: clinical and therapeutic relevance.Epilepsia. 1999; 40: S57-S64
- Psychiatric complications of absence therapy and their relation to alteration of sleep.Epilepsia. 1984; 25: S56-S59
- Psychiatric syndromes related to antiepileptic drugs.Epilepsia. 1999; 40: S65-S70
- Manic episodes in epilepsy.Adv Epileptology: XIIIth Epilepsy International Symposium. 1982; : 237-240
- Forced normalization. Acute psychosis after seizure control in seven patients.Arch Neurol. 1987; 44: 289-292
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
December 19,
2000
Received in revised form:
December 4,
2000
Received:
September 25,
2000
Identification
Copyright
© 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
