Hypnogenic paroxysmal dystonia: a new type of parasomnia?

Four cases of hypnogenic paroxysmal dystonia are described. The patients (three males and one female), aged between 12 and 39 were subjected to neurological, physical and psychological examination, and routine lab tests and brain CT scan were carried out within normal limits. One of the patients suffered from diurnal epileptic seizures. Repeated EEG recordings during wakefulness were normal. During polysomnographic and TV recordings the patients showed different types of dystonic fits occurring several times a night, always brief, and starting during NREM sleep. Carbamazepine therapy proved to be relatively effective in three subjects.