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Bettina Schmitz: Emotional and social burden of uncontrolled epilepsy

Explore how uncontrolled epilepsy and its psychiatric comorbidities impact lives and costs, as Prof. Bettina Schmitz shares new insights into predicting, and reversing, these burdens.

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Seminar

Introduction

The session with Bettina Schmitz and Pavel Klein addressed physical and psychiatric comorbidities, and the impact of improved seizure control on mortality and morbidity.

Bettina Schmitz pointed out in describing the emotional and social burden of uncontrolled epilepsy, that despite the introduction of new ASMs over the last 25 years, many people with epilepsy do not achieve seizure freedom,1-3 with seizures affecting all aspects of their life.4,5

Epilepsy is one of the three most costly neurological diseases6, with poorer seizure control and comorbid anx­iety/depression associated with higher costs.7-10

Schmitz concluded with findings from an experimental model for epilepsy and depression showing that vul­nerability to comorbidities after epilepsy onset due to unresolved past stressful events may be predicted and reversed.11

Prof. Dr. med Bettina Schmitz is the head of department of Neurology with a Treatment Center of Acute Disorders of Cerebral Circulation and Epilepsy at the Vivantes Humboldt Hospital and professor at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.

This slide deck was presented Prof. Dr. med Bettina Schmitz at the "From Now On" meeting 28.11.2023. The meeting was arranged and funded by Angelini Pharma S.p.a. The opinions expressed in the slides are solely those of the presenter and not necessarily those of Angelini Pharma. Angelini Pharma does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of the information herein.

Lecture slides

  1. Chen Z, Brodie MJ. Liew D et al. Treatment Outcomes in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Epilepsy Treated With Established and New Antiepileptic Drugs. JAMA Neurol. 2018;75:279–86
  2. Golyala A, Kwan P. Drug development for refractory epilepsy: The past 25 years and Seizure. 2017;44:147–56
  3. Bell GS, Neligan A, Giavasi C et al. Outcome of seizures in the general population after 25 years. et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2016;87:843–50
  4. Josephson CB, Patten SB, Bulloch A et al. The impact of seizures on epilepsy outcomes: A national,community-based survey. Epilepsia. 2017;58:764–71
  5. Artama M, Isojarvi JI, Raitanen J et al. Birth rate among patients with epilepsy: a nationwide population-based cohort study in Finland. Am J Epidemiol. 2004;159:1057-63
  6. Andlin-Sobocki P, Jönsson B, Wittchen HU et al. Cost of disorders of the brain in Europe. Eur J Neurol 2005;12 Suppl 1:1-27
  7. Peña P, Sancho J, Rufo M, Martínez S, Rejas J; LINCE Study Collaborative Group. Driving cost factors in adult outpatients with refractory epilepsy: a daily clinical practice in clinics of neurology in Spain Epilepsy Res. 2009.Feb;83(2-3):133-43
  8. Noda AH, Hermsen A, Berkenfeld R et al. Evaluation of costs of epilepsy using an electronic practice management software in Seizure. 2015; 26:49–55
  9. Pirker S, Graef A, Gächter M et al. Costs of Epilepsy in Austria: Unemployment as a primary driving factor. Eur J Epilepsy.2021 Jul; 89:24-29
  10. Chen S-Y, Wu N, Boulanger L et al. Antiepileptic drug treatment patterns and economic burden of commercially-insured patients with refractory epilepsy with partial onset seizures in the United States J Med Economics 2013 ;16(2):240-8
  11. Becker C, Bouvier E, Ghestem A et al. Predicting and treating stress-induced vulnerability to epilepsy and depression. Ann Neurol. 2015 Jul;78(1):128-36.
MAT-SE-0042-P 6.10.2025

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