Dissociation and other clinical phenomena in youth with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) compared to youth with epilepsy.

PURPOSE: To compare youth with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) to youth with epilepsy on demographic and clinical features and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). METHOD: A retrospective study of 31 patients; 15 patients with PNES (11 females) and 16 patients with epilepsy (8 females) collected consecutively between 2014-2018. Demographic and clinical information (age of seizure onset, life adversities, individual/family psychiatric history, etc.) were gathered. Scales from the TSCC (Dissociation, Depression, Anxiety) were analyzed. RESULTS: Eleven of the youth with PNES (YPNES) (73%) were female, mean age was 14.3 ± 1.6 years and years of education were 9 ± 1.9. Eight of the youth with epilepsy (YWE) (50%) were females, mean age was 11.9 ± 2.8 years and years of education were 5.6 ± 2.9. All 15 YPNES and over half of their families had comorbid psychological problems whilst rates of personal and family psychiatric histories were much lower in YWE. Well over half of YPNES reported experiencing life adversities while one fourth of YWE reported these types of experiences. Significant differences were observed between YPNES and YWE on TSCC Overt Dissociation (p < 0.003), Dissociation (p < 0.009), and Depression (p < 0.001) scales, with YWE producing lower scores. When the six target variables were condensed into one principal component, the global TSCC score was lower in the epilepsy group, even after adjusting for potential effects age, seizure frequency and intellectual quotient. CONCLUSIONS: The current study's results indicate that YPNES present with comparably higher self-reported symptoms of depression and dissociation than YWE.

Effect of exercise on plasma paraoxonase1 activity in rugby players: dependance on training experience.

OBJECTIVES: There are conflicting data on the influence of physical activity on paraoxonase1 (PON1) activity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of maximal exercise (ME) on plasma paraoxonase (PON) and arylesterase (ARE) activity in elite rugby players. In addition, the influence of training experience and PON1 Q192R polymorphism on PON1 activity changes at ME was evaluated. METHODS: Twenty-five elite rugby players ages 22.0±3.71 years, consisting of 11 juniors--J (2-7 years of training) and 14 seniors--S (8-15 years of training), completed ME on a cycle ergometer. PON and ARE activity, ferric reducing activity of plasma (FRAP), uric acid (UA), and total bilirubin concentration, as well as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and lipid profile were investigated in the plasma before, at the bout, and 30 minutes after ME. RESULTS: At the bout of ME we found an increase in PON1 activities, ARE/high-density lipoprotein C ratio, TBil, and TChol. However, ARE activity changes were not observed in the group of rugby players training for ≤7 years. FRAP and UA increased later--30 minutes after ME. CONCLUSION: We conclude that in rugby players PON1 changes during ME depend on age, body composition, and training experience. The influence of PON1 Q192R polymorphism on PON1 changes at ME remains debatable.