Epilepsy and Behavior: Response to an Integrative Treatment Paradigm Highlighting Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Abstract

Epilepsy is a complex disorder which requires multidisciplinary management. Comorbidities such as anxiety and depression, intellectual disability, and comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders are common. In severe cases, particularly when modalities such as surgical intervention are not feasible, an individual may have to live with recurring seizures. Such challenges can result in exacerbation of psychosocial stressors and emotional and behavioral problems. In these instances, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches along with a well-integrated psychotherapeutic and medical model may provide significant functional improvement. This is the case of a young man who has struggled with nearly lifelong epilepsy that is medically refractory. He engaged in a detailed evaluation informed by pharmacogenetics studies and improved with a novel multimodal treatment paradigm.