In light of the recent issues regarding antiepileptic drugs and suicidality, The Epilepsy Study Consortium is proposing a pilot study. Several scales to assess suicidality and screen for depression and anxiety disorders will be administered to a group of epilepsy patients with characteristics similar to patients who are usually enrolled in epilepsy clinical trials. The study will assess the prevalence of depression, suicidal thoughts, and behavior and the feasibility of using the proposed psychiatric rating scales in future epilepsy clinical trials. This study will also provide an estimate of the proportion of patients with epilepsy who may be ineligible for future trials because they have had active suicidal thoughts in the last 6 months, suicidal behavior in the last 2 years or a current major depressive episode.
