This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Some epilepsy patients in their postictal state may leave the setting of their complex partial seizures and wander either aimlessly or semipurposely. This postictal wandering (PIW) may result not only in social embarrassment but also in potentially tragic consequences if a patient wanders into a dangerous situation before regaining full consciousness.
Although PIW is recognized by various names1 and has been described in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, frontal lobe epilepsy, somnambulism, and other sleep disorders,1–4 its prevalence and localizing value have not been systematically studied. We sought to determine the frequency of PIW and whether it is preferentially associated with seizures arising from certain areas of the brain.
Methods.
Presence or absence of PIW and seizure onset localization were prospectively analyzed in 42 of 54 consecutive patients admitted to an epilepsy monitoring unit between October 2007 and May 2008 for video-EEG investigation of presumed medically refractory localization-related epilepsy. Excluded patients had nonepileptic seizures (n = 6) or no seizures (n = 4) during admission, or were found to have primary generalized epilepsy (n = 2). Simple partial seizures and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures were excluded. Seizure videos were reviewed by the attending epileptologists and PIW was deemed present when in the postictal phase, after disappearance of ictal EEG patterns, patients stood up from their chairs or beds and wandered away (often …
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Avalglucosidase Alfa in Patients With Late-Onset Pompe Disease
Dr. Marianne de Visser and Dr. Maudy Theunissen