Autism and epilepsy: Dr. Colin Reilly and Dr. Stéphane Auvin

10/23/23 • 28 min

Nearly one-third of people with autism also have epilepsy. Researchers aren't sure why.
For people on the spectrum, epilepsy can prompt unique challenges. Seizure symptoms can be misinterpreted as common autistic behaviors. Treatment may also be difficult due to the stress of a clinical setting, or the impact of anti-seizure medications on autism symptoms. Currently, some experts argue that there is a lack of research in assessing these care pathways.
To learn more about diagnosis and treatment for people with autism and epilepsy, Joy Mazur spoke to Dr. Colin Reilly and Dr. Stéphane Auvin.
Related studies/links:
Epilepsy in patients with autism: links, risks and treatment challenges Besag FMC, et al., 2017
Neurobehavioral Comorbidities in Children with Active Epilepsy: A Population-Based Study Reilly C, et al., 2014
Traditional and non-traditional treatments for autism spectrum disorder with seizures: an on-line survey Frye RE, et al., 2011
Epilepsy and autism - National Autistic Society

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Previous Episode

Dravet syndrome and the influence of the genome: Dr. Sanjay Sisodiya

Dravet syndrome is a rare, severe epilepsy caused by changes in a gene called SCN1A. The changes cause the gene to stop functioning normally. But not everyone with this type of genetic change develops Dravet syndrome, and people with Dravet also have a wide range of clinical characteristics, which can't be fully explained by these changes. What else is going on? We spoke with Dr. Sanjay Sisodiya about a recent publication on genomic influences in Dravet syndrome.
This episode is based on a recent publication in the journal Brain:
Widespread genomic influences on phenotype in Dravet syndrome, a ‘monogenic’ conditionDravet syndrome is a rare severe epilepsy typically caused by loss-of-function SCN1A variants. Despite a recognizable core phenotype, Dravet syndrome also has phenotypic heterogeneity, which cannot be explained by clinical factors or SCN1A variants.
This relatively small study (34 adults) found that additional genomic variation contributes to the diversity of phenotypes found in Dravet syndromes. The authors suggest that the SCN1A variant may need to act against a "broadly compromised genomic background" to generate the full Dravet syndrome phenotype, and that genomic resilience may contribute to a reduction in mortality risk among adults with Dravet syndrome.

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Cannabinoids, endocannabinoids, and epilepsy: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam

Dr. Raphael Mechoulam was an organic chemist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the father of cannabis research. His team was the first to elucidate the structure of cannabidiol, or CBD.
Dr. Mechoulam passed away in March 2023. This episode is a remastering of a conversation between Dr. Mechoulam and Dr. Meir Bialer, held in 2018 at the 13th European Congress on Epileptology. They spoke about CBD, THC, the endocannabinoid system, and the effects of cannabinoids in epilepsy and other conditions.

Sharp Waves: ILAE's epilepsy podcast - Autism and epilepsy: Dr. Colin Reilly and Dr. Stéphane Auvin

Transcript

Joy Mazur: Nearly one third of people with autism have epilepsy. For these people, diagnosis and treatment pose several challenges. For example, being autistic can make it difficult to explain experiences and sensations. This means it may be hard to distinguish between behavioral symptoms of autism and seizures. People with autism may also have more sensitive reactions to typical anti-seizure medications or may find it difficult to be in unfamiliar environments, like an epilep