This uncommon paroxysmal movement disorder featuring attacks of dystonic spasm with athetoid posturing is usually of idiopathic nature, often familial and starting in childhood. There are a few reported examples due to cerebral pathology, and only four previous cases due to brain trauma. We report here a 21 year old ...

A curious case is reported in which the patient, a young woman, exhibited convulsive seizures when approaching closely to a television. The visual and acoustic stimulation did not change her EEG, whereas simultaneous stimulation with both the modalities induced bilateral and symmetrical high-voltage spikes (with their diffusion) that led to ...

Among 158 cases of organic dementia in a prospective study concerning both psychiatry and regional cerebral blood flow there were 26 cases with a mainly frontal or fronto-temporal dementia. Careful neuropathological investigation disclosed 20 cases of a mainly frontal or fronto-temporal grey matter degeneration, in four of them compatible with ...

A case of episodic delirium with incapacitating myoclonus associated with therapeutic doses of phenelzine is described. No evidence of epilepsy was found. The delirium and the myoclonus remitted rapidly after phenelzine was stopped and treatment with a benzodiazepine was started. No previous reports of the association of phenelzine with myoclonus ...

A single case of one-to-one correspondence between eyelid flutter and EEG alpha rhythm is reported. It arose during a battery of experiments into possible personality correlates of eyelid conditioning, EEG evoked potential and skin potential habituation, involving over 400 subjects. The reported phenomenon lasted for one burst of 24 sec. ...

Computed tomography scanning in two young patients with recurrent, pulsating, migraine-like headache showed parieto-occipital calcifications. One patient presented with an atypical form of the Sturge-Weber syndrome, and the other with celiac disease and folic acid deficiency. The clinical features were analyzed and compared with those in other cases reported in ...

This is a report of a 21-year-old woman with reading epilepsy. Clinical and electroencephalographic (EEG) observations are presented while the patient read a news magazine in Spanish, read a magazine in English, read an announcement repetitively, viewed comic strips without legends, made a mathematical calculation. Only reading in Spanish produced ...

Four cases of convulsive seizures occurring during treatment with nomifensine have been notified to the Committee on the Safety of Medicines of the United Kingdom, and 22 cases have been reported from other countries. The occurrence of convulsions is not in keeping with the results of animal experiments, studies of ...

Blindness developed in a 22-year-old woman five days postpartum. She developed recurrent generalized tonic-clonic seizures despite early institution of intravenous magnesium sulphate. After a loading dose of phenytoin was given, the seizures stopped and the blindness gradually resolved. A review of the literature pertaining to blindness and eclampsia is presented ...

Thirty-seven cases that showed bilateral basal ganglia calcification (BGC) were found in 5987 patients. These cases (0.6%) were studied in relation to their CT findings, underlying diseases and epilepsy. CT findings of BGC were divided into "localized" type (33 cases) and "diffuse" type (4 cases). The number of patients with ...

Twelve cases have been reported in the literature to have developed acute, largely reversible, global amnesic syndromes some hours after ingesting substantial doses of clioquinol. Two of these cases presented again after asymptomatic intervals of some 12 years. Both had recently developed typical clinical and electroencephalographic evidence of partial epilepsy ...

In this paper four Dutch cases of early infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) are described, all being boys. NCL is a group of diseases morphologically characterized by accumulation of autofluorescent ceroid lipofuscin-like pigment. Psychomotor deterioration, impairment of vision, and epileptic manifestations are the major clinical features. Onset in early infantile ...

Two patients are described in whom an obsessive-compulsive disorder began just after the onset of epilepsy. Neurological factors in OCD are then reviewed, and clinical reports of patients with OCD and co-existing brain pathology, EEG abnormalities, CT scan changes and electrical stimulation of the brain discussed. It is concluded that ...

To compare the relative central nervous system and cardiac toxicity of amoxapine, maprotiline, and trazodone with the older tricyclic antidepressants, a three-year (1981 through 1983) retrospective review was performed on 1,313 cases involving cyclic antidepressant exposures reported to the Maryland Poison Center. Seizures were more common in the amoxapine (24.5%) ...

Three cases of seizures and marked behavioral changes that occurred after intrathecal metrizamide administration are reported. In each case a cranial computed tomographic scan obtained within 24 hours of the ictus showed hyperdensity of the gray matter, and created an optical illusion of diffuse white matter edema. The literature on ...

Thirteen cases of cerebral cavernous angiomas are reported, and their radiological and pathological features are reviewed. The clinical presentation was variable: 53.8% of patients had seizures, 30.8% intracerebral hemorrhage, and 15.4% focal neurological signs, including one unusual case that presented as a cerebellopontine angle tumor. The computerized tomography (CT) scans ...

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus may be subdivided into generalized (absence) status and complex partial status. The latter is regarded as a rarity, whereas the former constitutes the dominant part of the hitherto reported cases. We report 10 consecutive cases of adult patients with nonconvulsive status epilepticus, all documented by ictal electroencephalographic ...

Some photosensitive epileptic patients show absence attacks preceded by a "seeking of a source of light" and stereotyped movements of various kinds. The common explanation is an attempt to self-induce seizures. The case reported is of a young girl who had not shown evidence of photosensitivity for many years. Alternative ...

Rett syndrome (RS) is a condition apparently limited to females characterized by normal early development followed by the abrupt loss of acquired function and beginning autistic behavior in late infancy. Manifestations in RS include decelerating head growth, unusual "hand-writing" movements, gait apraxia, neuromuscular tone disturbance, and seizures. No biochemical, hematologic, ...

A case of acute intermittent porphyria in a 10-year-old boy with seizures and hypercholesterolemia is presented. The problems of management when seizures and porphyria coincide and discussion of hypercholesterolemia are included. A comprehensive review of the world literature reveals that prepubertal patients with acute intermittent porphyria are predominantly male and ...

A possible relationship between epilepsy and violence has been debated for over a century. The debate has taken on new importance because of the increasing use of the "epilepsy defense" in criminal cases. In this review the following issues are addressed: (1) Is epilepsy more common among violent criminals and ...

Previous reports have described neonatal myoclonus as a benign movement in healthy premature newborns or as a clinical seizure in neonates with severe encephalopathies. The present report describes electroencephalographic-myoclonic correlations which occur independently from sustained electrical discharges in ten neonates. Cortical, reticular, and segmental types of neonatal myoclonus, similar to ...

In six cases of reflex epilepsy, the seizures were triggered by reading or elaborating a verbal utterance, and were accompanied on EEG by focal or generalized epileptiform activity. The seizures were controlled with clonazepam in four cases and by sodium valproate in two cases. We speculate that the disturbance has ...

A patient is presented in whom both linear scleroderma and eosinophilic fasciitis developed. The latter is rare in childhood. A positive antinuclear antibody, a positive rheumatoid factor, and seizures also developed. In reviewing the literature, we concluded that the clinical and histologic pattern of cutaneous sclerosis may be more valuable ...

A case of pyridoxine-dependent seizures is reported. Administration of pyridoxine to an infant after a long period of convulsions was followed by acute hypotonia. Other cases have been reported in the literature, in one of which assisted ventilation was required. A possible mechanism for this alarming outcome is discussed, and ...

Authors report a case of growing skull fracture, unusual complication of linear skull fracture in infancy and childhood. A review of 132 cases reported in literature is done with an analysis of general characteristics of this lesion. The most common localization is parietal (50%); clinical presentation is represented by development ...

Confusion about the risk of seizures following head trauma might in part reflect methodologic limitations of reported studies. This epidemiologic review emphasizes four methodologic issues: selection of cases, selection of controls, definition and ascertain of seizures, and definition, of seizures, and definition, classification, and ascertainment of trauma. Although the focus ...

A patient with post-thyroidectomy hypoparathyroidism, basal ganglia calcification, parkinsonism and seizures is reported. The parkinsonism was resistant to levodopa therapy but was not significantly improved by the correction of hypoparathyroidism. Previously reported cases are discussed, as well as the relationship between hypoparathyroidism, calcification of basal ganglia, parkinsonism and epilepsy.

Nine cases among 1000 adults referred to our EEG Laboratory were found to have epileptiform discharges at the C-Z area, predominantly in the awake state. These were in the form of isolated spike and wave complexes in five cases (0.5%), and Mu-like rhythms in four (0.4%). In all cases, variable ...

A hypercalcemic condition can be observed in association with hyperthyroidism. The case of a patient suffering from hypercalcemia and hyperthyroidism is reported. A confusional state and EEG alterations, among which diffuse monomorphic delta rhythms were remarkable, are shown. As soon as normalization of calcemia was achieved, a rapid clinical and ...

We report a case of hemorrhagic shock associated with an EEG pattern resembling pseudoperiodic lateralized paroxysmal discharges, repeated focal motor seizures on the opposite side of the prevalent EEG abnormalities and consciousness disturbances in the absence of a demonstrable cerebral lesion occurring in a 45 year-old woman without a personal ...

Nine cases of 'basilar artery migraine' (BAM) have been recorded. In 8 cases, excess of beta activity was observed during the attacks and disappeared in less than 3 days. The inter-ictal EEGs were normal. Drug ingestion was excluded each time. These EEG patterns are different from those which have been ...

Six cases of convulsive seizures occurring during treatment with viloxazine notified to the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and two other cases from Japan were reviewed. A critical study of the patient's histories suggests a possible causal connection between drug and seizures in only two of these cases. The ...

The electroencephalogram (EEG) in a case of multiple personality was described. Despite conflicting reports in the literature we found no changes in the EEG which could not be ascribed to the normal changes seen in transitions from various states of alertness. The problems of differentiating multiple personality as a psychiatric ...

A case of frontotemporal intracerebral schwannoma in a 16-year-old girl with epilepsy and progressive hemiparesis of 3 years' duration is described. The histologic diagnosis and possible sites of origin are discussed. In addition, five previously reported cases of supratentorial intracerebral schwannoma are discussed. All of the patients reviewed presented with ...

Two siblings with cerebral calcifications are described, clinically characterized by the early onset of general regression and epileptic seizures, followed by cerebral blindness and spastic tetraplegia. No remarkable biochemical abnormalities were found. Death ensued before the age of seven years. Radiology of the skull in the second case showed widespread ...

Neonatal cerebral infarction is infrequently reported in the living newborn and is usually associated with perinatal risk factors, trauma, and asphyxia. This report describes two cases of full-term newborns with no predisposing problems who had unequivocal left cerebral infarctions associated with seizures in the first 24 hours of life. Radiological ...

A case of hypomelanosis of Ito in a ten-year-old black boy with mental retardation, epilepsy and abnormalities of the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres revealed by a computerized tomography is presented. This is the 41st reported case on this disease, a number of which have shown neurological signs. A ...

Ninety cases of bilateral dislocation of the shoulders, including seven previously unreported cases are discussed. Forty-nine per cent were due to convulsive seizures or electrocution, 23 per cent were traumatic and 36 per cent were atraumatic. This paper indicates that many attributed to trauma were probably due to unrecognized seizure, ...

Over 100 years ago, on the 27th of January 1881, Fyodor Mikhailovitch Dostoevsky died. Since that time, many biographies, monographs, memoirs, and, to a lesser extent, articles in the medical literature have discussed the fact that Dostoevsky was a patient with epilepsy. An attempt is made here to integrate the ...

Etiological factors and long-term prognosis were studied in 562 cases with convulsive disorders in the first year of life; 114 (20.3%) were prenatal, 114 (20.3%) perinatal, 24 (4.3%) postnatal, and 257 cases (45.7%) were cryptogenic. The remaining 53 (9.4%) patients were doubtful cases. The mortality before six years of age ...

A 52-year-old Black woman on phenytoin therapy for post-traumatic epilepsy developed transient hemiparesis contralateral to the injury. The episode appeared to have been precipitated by toxicity due to ingestion of a large amount of phenytoin. A possible mechanism for focal neurological deficit in brain-damaged patients on phenytoin therapy is discussed.

A 55-year-old man presented with dementia and seizures of recent onset. A computerized tomography scan revealed a ring-like lesion in the left occipital lobe, which on resection was found to be a histoplasmoma. Cerebral histoplasmoma is rare and simulates a metastatic brain tumor. Only eight cases of this entity have ...

Although several studies have reported on the risk of "early seizures" (seizures occurring within 7 days following a head injury), the reported proportions of patients experiencing these seizures vary from 1.4 to 15%. This wide divergence may be due to problems with methodology such as case selection and definitions of ...

A 17-year-old female who had Hypokalemic periodic paralysis with arrhythmia developed syncopal attacks. Although syncope in this rare disorder has been attributed to ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, the clinical manifestation, electroencephalogram, serum electrolytes and blood sugar at the attack, and the results of lumbar puncture indicated that idiopathic generalized ...

The efficacy of bilateral stereotactic amygdalotomy for the treatment of aggressive behavioral disorders has been evaluated in a retrospective study of 67 cases. In addition 4 cases with complex partial seizures accompanied by aggressive outbursts revealing a unilateral epileptogenic focus in the amygdala or periamygdala region during preoperative stereoelectroencephalographic (SEEG) ...

The hamartoma of the tuber cinereum, a midline dysraphic syndrome, corresponds to a mass of normal neuronal tissue implanted in the area of the mamillary bodies. It has no evolutionary potential, but association to other cerebral malformations has been observed. On the basis of 18 personal cases and a review ...

Three personal observations of "eating seizures' are described and similar cases in the literature considered. The authors conclude that eating seizures represent an unusual pathological event with complex physiopathological mechanisms, and prognosis may change in relation to the different clinical contexts. The role of intermittent prophylactic treatment with clobazam is ...

Six cases of absence status (age 4-40) have been reported from our center. The clinical and electroencephalographic features of 49 reported Japanese patients (including the cases from our center) have been analyzed and classified into subgroups. As a result, it was possible to classify absence status into three subgroups: typical ...

The case is reported of a 14-year-old male who killed an 8-year-old child following an alleged insult. The subject had been known to be aggressive throughout his school career. He had suffered one nocturnal seizure at the age of 13, but he never was amnesic for any of his fights. ...