FAQs about psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES)
Is it possible for someone to have both epilepsy and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) or to have an abnormal EEG but still be diagnosed with PNES?
Some patients have both epileptic seizures and PNES.
Approximately 10-25% of people with PNES also have epilepsy. It is extremely important in these cases to work with your team to help you distinguish which seizures are epileptic and which are PNES, how to tell them apart, and what treatment you should receive for each.
If there is epilepsy-like activity on EEG and abnormalities in neuroimaging studies (brain MRI or other techniques) in someone with proven PNES, the possibility of a "dual diagnosis" (having both PNES and epilepsy) needs to be thoroughly explored.
Sometimes there are slight changes in EEG that happen in healthy people (about 10-20% of healthy people have those changes in EEG). Those EEG changes do not mean that the patient has epilepsy and may confuse some doctors. That is why an expert in epilepsy and EEG is necessary to confirm what those changes really mean.
