title: Head atonic attacks: a new type of benign non-epileptic attack in infancy strongly mimicking epilepsy.
abstract: Non-epileptic attacks (NEAs) are a heterogeneous group of clinical entities which often complicate the differential diagnosis of epilepsy. NEAs usually have a benign course and are limited to a specific period of life. If motor manifestations are strongly suggestive of an epileptic phenomenon, the risk of misdiagnosis is greater. Here, we describe a novel NEA with infantile onset, characterised by repeated head drops, mimicking epileptic negative myoclonus of the neck. The frequency of the episodes was very high, at hundreds or thousands per day. The episodes appeared in the second semester of the first year of life and spontaneously disappeared within a few months. [Published with video sequences].
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Department of Child Neuropsychiatry, C Poma Hospital, Mantova, Italy. pippo.capovilla@aopoma.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Capovilla
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montagnini
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peruzzi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beccaria
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009123:Muscle Hypotonia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: NEAs; atonic attacks; infancy; non-epileptic attacks; paroxysmal disorders