Benign parasomnias and nocturnal frontal epilepsy: Differential diagnosis in a case report

We report the case of a 13-year-old boy who complained of complex motor epi sodes during sleep characterized by sudden arousal followed by deambulation associated with automatic movements and vocalization. His family history i ncluded both epileptic and psychiatric disorders. The patient himself prese nted psychopathologic traits and adaptive difficulties. In support of an ep ileptic origin of these phenomena were the stereotyped fashion in which the y appeared and their responsiveness to carbamazepine. We classified the pre sent case as a nocturnal frontal epilepsy with variable manifestations that can be classified as paroxysmal arousals, paroxysmal dystonia, and epilept ic nocturnal wanderings. It was possible to differentiate such events front the most common parasomnias on the basis of videopolysomnographic studies.