Patient reporting of seizure exacerbation near the time of menses helps distinguish epileptic from nonepileptic seizures

The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient reporting of a relationship between seizure exacerbation and menses helps distinguish premenopausal women with epileptic seizures from those with nonepileptic seizures (NES). We reviewed the responses to the question 'What tends to bring on your seizures?', administered during the initial evaluation of women ages 18-45 years with epileptic seizures (n = 27) and NES (n = 38) at our outpatient clinic. Only one out of 38 women with NES versus 13 of 27 women with epilepsy reported a relationship of seizures with the menstrual cycle (p = .0001). Other precipitants identified for seizure exacerbation such as stress, or emotional upset, did not distinguish these two groups. Patient reporting of a relationship between seizure exacerbation and menses can help distinguish epileptic from NES in premenopausal women.