Jaw Myoclonus Research Articles

A case report of gabapentin induced jaw myoclonus in end stage renal failure patient

A case report of gabapentin induced jaw myoclonus in end stage renal failure patient

Reading epilepsy – a case report

Reflex epilepsy, where epileptic seizures are triggered by specific sensory stimuli, affects 4–7% of patients suffering from epilepsy. Reading epilepsy, where all or almost all epileptic seizures are induced by reading, is a very rare form of reflex epilepsy. Two types of this disease have been distinguished: the most common type is caused by sudden muscle jaw contractions (myoclonic variant) and it lasts for a very short time (for example few seconds), while the second type is characterised by focal alexia seizures (focal variant with alexia). The article highlights the clinical picture and treatment of reading epilepsy in a 18-yearold patient. In this case, seizures were always caused by at least 2 hours of continuous reading and were preceded by jaw myoclonus. The treatment included sodium valproate and levetiracetam.

Predominant Jaw Myoclonus from Cefepime Toxicity: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature.

Predominant Jaw Myoclonus from Cefepime Toxicity: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature.

Focal reading epilepsy—a rare variant of reading epilepsy: A case report

Reading epilepsy is a distinct form of epilepsy in which all or almost all seizures are precipitated by reading. Seizures typically show orofacial or jaw myoclonus. Nevertheless, reading epilepsy is not homogenous and its classification is unclear. We report a patient with reading-induced prolonged left temporal seizures, presenting clinically as dyslexia.

Freeze lesion-induced focal cortical dysplasia predisposes to atypical hyperthermic seizures in the immature rat.

To determine the effects of focal cortical dysplasia on the behavioral and electrographic features of hyperthermia-induced seizures (HSs) in rats. A right sensorimotor cortex freeze lesion was induced in postnatal day 1 (P1) rat pups, and HSs were provoked at P10 under continuous monitoring of core temperature; EEGs were recorded from the right amygdala during and after hyperthermia. Controls included both sham-operated at P1 and naïve rats. HSs began with jaw myoclonus, followed by hindlimb clonus and generalized convulsions (GCs), and terminated by a period of posthyperthermia depression. The threshold temperature and latency of jaw myoclonus were similar across the groups. However, both the threshold temperature and latency of GCs were significantly lower in lesioned pups than in controls (40.5 +/- 0.5 degrees C, n = 24, vs. 42.0 +/- 0.2 degrees C, n = 21; p < 0.001; 6.7 +/- 0.6 min, n = 20, vs. 8.4 +/- 0.6 min, n = 22; p < 0.05). In lesioned pups, the threshold and latencies for jaw myoclonus and hindlimb clonus were similar, whereas in controls, the progression from one to the other was marked by significant differences in both parameters. Posthyperthermia depression was longer in lesioned (13.3 +/- 1.2 min, n = 21) than in control (8.0 +/- 0.8 min, n = 20; p < 0.0001) pups. Ictal EEG activity was recorded during both behavioral seizures and posthyperthermia depression. An HS in rats with a localized freeze lesion results in lower threshold GC and prolonged ictal manifestations, thus supporting a pathophysiologic link between focal cortical dysplasia and atypical febrile seizures, conditions that have a high prevalence in children with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Hyperkinetic movement disorders during and after acute stroke: The Lausanne Stroke Registry

Background and objective: To study consecutive patients with acute or delayed hyperkinetic movement disorders in the Lausanne Stroke Registry. Methods: We have identified 29 patients with acute or delayed movement disorders among 2500 patients who had their first-ever acute stroke in the Lausanne Stroke Registry. Setting: Department of Neurology, Lausanne University Hospital. Results: Our patients presented with hemichorea-hemiballism (11 patients), hemidystonia (5 patients), stereotypias (2 patients), jerky dystonic unsteady hand (3 patients), asterixis (2 patients), initial limb-shaking (2 patients), bilateral tremor (1 patients), bilateral jaw myoclonus (1 patient), hemiakathisia (1 patient) and dysarthria-dyskinetic hand (1 patieent). On neuroimaging a lesion was found in 25 of the 29 cases in the territory of the middle cerebral artery (7 deep, 2 superficial and 2 complete), the posterior cerebral artery (11 patients), both middle and posterior cerebral arteries (2 patients) or the anterior cerebral artery (1 patient). The jerky dystonic unsteady hand syndrome was associated with a specific lesion, an infarct in the territory of the posterior choroidal artery. Presumed small-vessel disease was the commonest cause of stroke (15 patients). Only 3 patients had persistent movements (> 6 months). Conclusion: Hyperkinetic movement disorders are uncommon in acute stroke (1 %), the commonest types being hemichorea-hemiballism and hemidystonia. These movement disorders are associated with stroke involving the basal ganglia and adjacent white matter in the territory of the middle or the posterior cerebral artery. The jerky dystonic unsteady hand syndrome is specifically associated with a small infarct in the territory of the posterior choroidal artery. The abnormal movements usually regress spontaneously. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Reading-induced absence seizures

Reading epilepsy usually presents with jaw myoclonus and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. We report a 12-year-old girl with absence seizures induced by reading, which were diagnosed by video EEG. An absence seizure with generalized 3-Hz spike-and-wave discharge occurred within 30 seconds of each reading session. Treatment with valproate caused complete seizure control, with therapy successfully discontinued after 2 years.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone is a rapid and potent convulsant in the infant rat

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) administered into the cerebral ventricles of rats during the first postnatal week caused a specific and stereotyped behavior sequence: rhythmic chewing and licking (jaw myoclonus) were followed by ‘limbic’-type seizures. The onset of the seizures was much more rapid (2–45 min vs 3–7 h) than in adult rats, and the convulsant doses were much lower (50 × 10 −12 mol per gram brain weight vs 750 × 10 −12 mol per gram brain weight in adults). CRH potency in inducing seizures varied inversely with age. CRH-induced seizures occurred prior to any changes in serum corticosterone, and were eliminated by the administration of a CRH antagonist, as well as of phenytoin. Electrocorticographic correlates of CRH-induced behaviors in the infant rat were inconsistent, suggesting a subcortical origin of CRH-induced paroxysmal events in the immature brain.