Benign parasomnias and nocturnal frontal epilepsy: differential diagnosis in a case report.
We report the case of a 13-year-old boy who complained of complex motor episodes during sleep characterized by sudden arousal followed by deambulation associated with automatic movements and vocalization. His family history included both epileptic and psychiatric disorders. The patient himself presented psychopathologic traits and adaptive difficulties. In support of an epileptic origin of these phenomena were the stereotyped fashion in which they appeared and their responsiveness to carbamazepine. We classified the present case as a nocturnal frontal epilepsy with variable manifestations that can be classified as paroxysmal arousals, paroxysmal dystonia, and epileptic nocturnal wanderings. It was possible to differentiate such events from the most common parasomnias on the basis of videopolysomnographic studies.
Gaggero
R
R
Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Giannina Gaslini Institute, University of Genoa, Italy. neurosvi@csita.unige.it
Devescovi
R
R
Nobili
L
L
Baglietto
M G
MG
Zucconi
M
M
Schinardi
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017034:Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020447:Parasomnias / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017286:Polysomnography; D014743:Videotape Recording
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002220:Carbamazepine