Seizures in the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Full Abstract

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most celebrated of American storytellers, lived through and wrote descriptions of episodic unconsciousness, confusion, and paranoia. These symptoms have been attributed to alcohol or drug abuse but also could represent complex partial seizures, prolonged postictal states, or postictal psychosis. Complex partial seizures were not well described in Poe's time, which could explain a misdiagnosis. Alternatively, he may have suffered from complex partial epilepsy that was complicated or caused by substance abuse. Even today, persons who have epilepsy are mistaken for substance abusers and occasionally are arrested during postictal confusional states. Poe was able to use creative genius and experiences from illness to create memorable tales and poignant poems.

Author information

Author/s: Bazil, C W (CW);

Affiliation: Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA. cwb11(-atsign-)columbia.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article

Journal: Archives of neurology (Arch Neurol), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1999-Jun; vol 56 (issue 6) : pp 740-3

Dates: Created 1999/06/29; Completed 1999/06/29; Revised 2008/11/21;

PMID: 10369317, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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