A. Paroxysmal kinesogenic dyskinesia (PKD) is characterized by sudden onset of abnormal hyperkinetic movements (dystonia, chorea, ballism, athetosis, or a combination of these) triggered by movement. Mutations in the PRRT2…
Parasomnias are unwanted events or experiences that occur during sleep, during the transition from wake to sleep, or during arousals from sleep. Parasomnias may result from a mixed or unstable…
The cardinal feature of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is an urge to move the limbs, often accompanied by uncomfortable sensations, which come on in the evening and nighttime, and which…
Hypersomnia is the cardinal symptom of sleep disorders characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, often resulting in increased sleep time or involuntary dozing. While insufficient sleep is the most common cause…
A. The initial step in evaluating an electroencephalogram (EEG) is to identify the recording montage. The typical initial montage is bipolar—each electrode is compared to a single adjacent electrode rather…
A. Depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and psychosis are all more common in patients with epilepsy. If patients have symptoms or a history of depression, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) with adverse mood…
Status epilepticus (SE) can be categorized into convulsive and nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE). Generalized convulsive status epilepticus is the most commonly encountered form of status epilepticus and is defined as:…
In most cases, initial antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy is selected from a relatively short list of AEDs determined primarily by the suspected epilepsy syndrome, as previously described in Chapter 71….
Most patients with epilepsy achieve seizure control with medications. However, about 30% of patients have drug-resistant epilepsy. Drug-resistant epilepsy, often known as medically intractable epilepsy, is defined as continued seizures…
