Abstract
Summary
Two patients complained of myoclonic jerks precipitated by writing. They had suffered only sporadic seizures triggered by reading. Laboratory assessment demonstrated that typing was the most powerful stimulus in triggering spike-wave discharges associated with myoclonic seizures. Sodium Valproate (20 mg/Kg/die) led to a complete remission of seizures in both cases.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Asbury
A.K.
, and
Prensky
A.L.
, Graphogenic epilepsy, Trans . Am. Neurol. Assoc , 88 :193 –194 , 1963 .
2.
Sharbrough
F.W.
,
Westmoreland
B.F.
, and
Campa
H.K.
, Writing epilepsy, Electroen-ceph . Clin. Neurophysiol. , 43 :506 , 1977 .
3.
Geschwind
N.
, and
Sherwin
I.
, Language induced epilepsy, Arch . Neurol. , 16 :25 –31 , 1967 .
4.
Stoupel
N.
, On the reflex epilepsies: epilepsy caused by reading, Electroenceph . Clin. Neurophysiol. , 25 :416 –417 , 1968 .
5.
Bennett
D.R.
,
Mavor
H.
, and
Jarcho
L.W.
, Language induced epilepsy: Report of a case, Electroenceph . Clin. Neurophysiol. , 30 :159 –165 , 1971 .
6.
Brooks
J.E.
, and
Jirauch
P.M.
, Primary reading epilepsy: A misnomer, Arch . Neurol. , 25 :97 –104 , 1971 .
7.
Forster
F.M.
, and
Daly
R.F.
, Reading epilepsy in identical twins, Trans . Ann. Neurol. Assoc , 98 :186 –188 , 1973 .
8.
Lee
S.I.
,
Sutherling
W.W.
,
Persing
G.A.
, and
Butler
A.B.
, Language induced seizures . A case of cortical origin, Arch. Neurol. , 37 :433 –436 , 1980 .
9.
Forster
F.M.
, Epilepsy evoked by higher cognitive function: communication-evoked epilepsy (language epilepsy: reading epilepsy) , In
Forster
F.M.
, (ed.), Reflex Epilepsy, Behavioral Therapy and Conditional Reflexes, Springfield, Charles C. Thomas , 1977 .