Crise non épileptique psychogène prolongée chez une femme âgée de 85 ans

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are paroxysmal behavioral changes resembling epileptic seizures. However, PNES is of psychological origin, not as the result of excessive neuronal discharge. Some recent studies using video-EEG monitoring revealed an unexpected percentage of PNES in the elderly. We report an 85-year-old female who had developed a late PNES with a clinical feature mimicking a convulsive status epilepticus. We have reviewed the literature on PNES in the elderly and discuss their characterization. The prevalence of PNES in old age is unknown; the number of reported cases is still limited and substantial data of PNES in the elderly is strongly lacking. As in adults, PNES is frequently misdiagnosed in the elderly resulting in the overuse of anti-epileptic drugs.