Somnambulism in adults.
We evaluated with clinical interviews and polysomnographic examinations 10 adults with the complaint of sleepwalking, often accompanied by violent behavior or self-injury. During the polysomnographic studies, 8 patients had 47 distinct somnambulistic episodes. All episodes occurred in non-REM sleep, with 91% occurring in slow-wave sleep. Contrary to previous reports, episodes were not confined to the 1st 3rd of the night. Clinical EEGs were normal in 5 of 6 patients. In the 7 patients tried on 1 or more treatment regimens, clonazepam effectively suppressed the somnambulism in 5 of 6 patients in whom it was tried, carbamazepine in 1 of 3, flurazepam in 2 of 2, and a combination of clonazepam and phenytoin in one.
Kavey
N B
NB
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.
Whyte
J
J
Resor
S R
SR
Gidro-Frank
S
S
D000328:Adult; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012894:Sleep Stages; D013009:Somnambulism / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D014754:Violence; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology