14 AND 6 HZ POSITIVE SPIKES PRECEDING 3 HZ GENERALIZED SPIKE AND WAVEIN A 15-YEAR-OLD PATIENT WITH ABSENCE - A CASE-REPORT

A 15 year old girl with a history of childhood absence seizures underw ent a prolonged EEG recording. Twelve bursts of 3 Hz generalized spike and wave were recorded during drowsiness and light sleep, all of whic h were preceded by 14 and 6 Hz positive spikes with a latency of under 1 s. Nine bursts of polyspike wave, not preceded by 14 and 6 Hz posit ive spikes, were recorded during deeper sleep (stage 3). The bursts of polyspike-wave were significantly longer when preceded by 14 and 6 Hz spikes than when observed in isolation. The close association between these paroxysmal events in our patient is intriguing, may be coincide ntal, and has never before been reported. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ir eland Ltd.