Can cataplexy look like a seizure?
The muscle twitching during cataplexy can look like a seizure. In fact, it’s sometimes misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder.
What does cataplexy look like?
Cataplexy occurs during waking hours. During a mild attack, there may be a barely visible weakness in a muscle, such as drooping of the eyelids. A more severe episode may involve a total body collapse. Although it is a different condition, cataplexy is sometimes misdiagnosed as a seizure disorder.
Can narcolepsy look like seizures?
A systematic review of misdiagnosis of conversion symptoms and “hysteria” revealed that a misdiagnosis rate of 29% in the 1950s improved to a 4% rate since the 1970s. I present a case report of narcolepsy as a disorder that can be misdiagnosed as conversion disorder with seizures or convulsions (pseudoseizure).
What does narcolepsy with cataplexy look like?
Other symptoms may include sudden muscle weakness while awake that makes a person go limp or unable to move (cataplexy), vivid dream-like images or hallucinations, and total paralysis just before falling asleep or just after waking up (sleep paralysis).
What is pseudo cataplexy?
Pseudo-cataplexy events are characterized by negative emotional triggers such as crying, generalized weakness, abrupt onset, preserved ability to communicate, and preserved deep tendon reflexes. Pseudo-cataplexy has been associated with mood disorders.
What is Pnes?
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) don’t have a physical cause. They aren’t caused by epilepsy. But people with epilepsy also may have PNES. People who have a lot of stress, mental illness, or emotional trauma may be more likely to have PNES.
What mimics cataplexy?
Cataplexy mimics include syncope, epilepsy, hyperekplexia, drop attacks and pseudocataplexy. They can be differentiated from cataplexy using thorough history taking, supplemented with (home)video recordings whenever possible.
Is cataplexy a neurological disorder?
Cataplexy is a brain disorder that causes a sudden and temporary loss of muscle tone and control, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
What is Pseudosleep?
Preictal pseudosleep was defined as a state that resembled normal sleep by behavioral criteria alone (i.e. patient motionless and eyes closed), while EEG showed evidence of wakefulness (alpha rhythm, active EMG, and rapid eye movement). This state had to be sustained for at least 1 minute before clinical onset.
What is a pseudo seizure?
Pseudoseizure is an older term for events that appear to be epileptic seizures but, in fact, do not represent the manifestation of abnormal excessive synchronous cortical activity, which defines epileptic seizures. They are not a variation of epilepsy but are of psychiatric origin.
What causes Nonepileptic?
NES is most often caused by mental stress or a physical condition, including: A heart condition that causes fainting. Diabetes or other metabolic disorders. Emotional pain.
What is the difference between atonic and focal seizures?
In an atonic seizure, a person suddenly loses muscle tone so their head or body may go limp. Atonic seizures can be begin in one area or side of the brain (focal onset) or both sides of the brain (generalized onset).
What is a generalized atonic seizure?
This is called a focal motor atonic seizure. Usually, atonic seizures affect both sides of the brain. These are called generalized onset atonic seizures. These seizures would begin with a sudden drop or loss of tone affecting the head, trunk, or whole body. Usually a person having a generalized atonic seizure is not fully aware during the event.
What happens if you fall during an atonic seizure?
Falls from atonic seizures often result in injuries to the face and head. Atonic seizures cause a person’s muscles to suddenly become flaccid. Atonic seizures can be categorized as focal seizures (starting in one part of the brain) and cause muscle tone loss in only one part of the body. This is referred to as a focal motor atonic seizure .
What is the difference between a spasm and a tonic seizure?
Distinction between a prolonged spasm and a short tonic seizure may be arbitrary, although spasms usually appear in cluster whereas tonic seizures do so only rarely. Drop attacks are also observed in other epilepsy syndromes typical of childhood.