A new Taiwanese study has confirmed that there is a bidirectional relationship between schizophrenia and epilepsy. This study was published Epilepsia, which is a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).

The study shows that patients who have epilepsy were almost 8 times more likely to develop schizophrenia and that patients with schizophrenia were nearly 6 times more likely to develop epilepsy. The study was conducted by researchers using information collected in the Taiwan National Health Insurance database, which identified 5,195 patients that have schizophrenia and 11,527 patients that have epilepsy and had been diagnosed with the conditions between 1999 and 2008. The groups were then compared to one another in accordance to patient ages and gender. When conducting their analysis, the researchers included the “incidence and risk of developing epilepsy in the schizophrenia patient group and schizophrenia in the epilepsy cohort.”

Their research found that patients developing epilepsy were “6.99 per every 1,000 people higher in the schizophrenia patient group to 1.19 in the non-schizophrenia group.” They also found that patients developing schizophrenia was “3.53 for every 1,000 people with epilepsy compared to 0.46 in the non-epilepsy group.” Researchers also reported that schizophrenia incidence was slightly higher in men with epilepsy than in women with the disease.

Of the findings, I-Ching Chou M.D. with China Medical University Hospital and Associate Professor with China Medical University, says, “Our research results show a strong bidirectional relation between schizophrenia and epilepsy. This relationship may be due to common pathogenesis in these diseases such as genetic susceptibility and environmental factors, but further investigation of the pathological mechanisms are needed.”

Epilepsy is often treated with the anti-seizure medication Topamax, which has recently been linked with birth defects when taken during pregnancy. Topamax has been linked with birth defects such as cleft palate, PPHN and cleft palate. If your baby was born with birth defects caused by Topamax, contact attorney Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting drug injury cases and may be able to help you recover money for your child’s injuries.