Antidepressant therapy in epilepsy: Can treating the comorbidities affect the underlying disorder?

Abstract

There is a high incidence of psychiatric comorbidity in people with epilepsy (PWE), particularly depression. The manifold adverse consequences of comorbid depression have been more clearly mapped in recent years. Accordingly, considerable efforts have been made to improve detection and diagnosis, with the result that many PWE are treated with antidepressant drugs, medications with the potential to influence both epilepsy and depression. Exposure to older generations of antidepressants (notably tricyclic antidepressants and bupropion) can increase seizure frequency. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that newer ('second generation') antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reupt..