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are taking place. When managing epilepsy in adolescence it is important to consider specific
syndromes and causes because these may require very different styles of treatment or
management. It is also important to consider the impact of epilepsy on the life of the
adolescent, and to minimise the isolation and stigmatisation that the teenager may feel at a
time when being part of an approving peer group is so important. These factors, together with
the issues such as alcohol, driving, sport, contraception, genetic implications and ‘safety
versus independence’, imply that the management of epilepsy in adolescence requires skill
and sensitivity.

References

1. KE, S., LAI, J., SUN, T., YANG, M.M., WANG, J.C., AUSTIN, J. (2015) Healthy young minds: The
effects of a 1-hour classroom workshop on mental illness stigma in high school students. Community Ment
Health J 51, 329-37.

2. WHELESS, J.W., KIM, H.L. (2002) Adolescent seizures and epilepsy syndromes. Epilepsia 43 suppl. 3,
3352.

3. SHETH, R.D. (2002) Adolescent issues in epilepsy. J Child Neurol 17 suppl. 2, 2S 232S 27.
4. NORDLI, D.R. (2001) Special needs of the adolescent with epilepsy. Epilepsia 42 suppl. 8: 1017.
5. BRODIE, M.J., FRENCH J.A. (2002) Management of epilepsy in adolescents and adults. Lancet 356 (9226),

323329.
6. BESAG, F.M.C. (1996) Modern management of epilepsy: Adolescents. Baillieres Clin Neurol 5 (4), 803820
7. ENGEL J. (2001) Classification of epileptic disorders. Epilepsia 42 (3), 316.
8. ANDERMANN, F., BERKOVIC, S.F. (2001) Idiopathic generalised epilepsy with generalised and other

seizures in adolescence. Epilepsia 42 (3), 317320.
9. KOPPEL, B.S., SAMKOF, F. L., DARAS, M. (1996) Relation of cocaine use to seizures and epilepsy.

Epilepsia 37(9), 875878.
10. LENNOX B.R., COLES, A.J, VINCENT, A. (2012) Antibody-mediated encephalitis: a treatable cause of

schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 200, 92-4.

Additional reading

ROGER, J., BUREAU, M., DRAVET, C. et al (2005) Epileptic Syndromes in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence (4th
edition). John Libbey Eurotext, Montrouge.
O’DONOHOE, N.V. (1991) Epilepsies of Childhood (3rd edition). Butterworths, London.
PANAYIOTOPOULOS, C.P. (2010) A Clinical Guide to Epileptic Syndromes. Springer.
CARABALLO, R.H., CERSOSIMO, R.O., FEJERMAN, N. (2004) Benign focal seizures of adolescence: a prospective
study. Epilepsia 45(12), 1600-1603.
SABERS, A., OHMAN, I., CHRISTENSEN, J., TOMSON, T. (2003) Oral contraceptives reduce lamotrigine plasma
levels. Neurology 61(4), 570-571.

Acknowledgement
The author is grateful to Dr Michael P. Farrell for advice on the paragraph on substance
abuse.