Ando Takayuki, Fujikawa Hirohisa
Center for General Medicine Education, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, JPN.
Department of Internal Medicine, Suwa Central Hospital, Nagano, JPN.
Cureus. 2024 Jan 29;16(1):e53139. doi: 10.7759/cureus.53139. eCollection 2024 Jan.
Focal seizures, characterized by excessive electrical excitation in a brain region, present diagnostic challenges due to diverse manifestations, particularly with non-motor symptoms. Here, we present a 69-year-old Japanese woman experiencing unexplained recurrent episodes of sweating, chills, and shivering. Despite exhaustive investigations that identified no abnormalities, her symptoms remained unalleviated by symptomatic treatments. The episodic nature of her presentations subsequently prompted a clinical suspicion of seizures, leading to further neurological evaluations. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and electroencephalography (EEG) revealed chronic ischemic changes in the cerebral white matter and intermittent sharp and slow wave bursts in the frontal regions. These findings led to a diagnosis of focal seizures manifesting as autonomic symptoms. The patient's symptoms were successfully treated with carbamazepine. This case illustrates the importance of considering non-motor focal seizures in patients with episodic symptoms, even when routine tests show no abnormalities.
局灶性癫痫发作的特征是大脑区域出现过度的电兴奋,由于其表现多样,尤其是存在非运动症状,因此在诊断上具有挑战性。在此,我们报告一名69岁的日本女性,她反复出现不明原因的出汗、发冷和颤抖发作。尽管进行了详尽的检查未发现异常,但对症治疗后她的症状仍未缓解。其发作性的表现随后引发了对癫痫发作的临床怀疑,从而促使进行进一步的神经学评估。脑部磁共振成像(MRI)和脑电图(EEG)显示脑白质存在慢性缺血性改变,额叶区域有间歇性尖慢波暴发。这些发现导致诊断为表现为自主神经症状的局灶性癫痫发作。该患者的症状通过卡马西平得到了成功治疗。这个病例说明了即使常规检查未发现异常,对于有发作性症状的患者考虑非运动性局灶性癫痫发作的重要性。