Nonconvulsive epileptiform activity appearing as ataxia
H. S. Bennett, J. E. Selman, I. Rapin and A. Rose
Ataxia may be the result of otherwise silent epileptiform activity. We
studied three patients, between 3 and 5 years of age, whose initial
complaint was unsteadiness of gait. Each one of the patients had an
epileptiform EEG with bursts of slow spike and wave activity. Each had
normal results of diagnostic studies for other causes of ataxia.
Specifically, none had anticonvulsant drug levels in the toxic range.
Modification of the anticonvulsant regimen resulted in dramatic clinical
and EEG improvement. Nonconvulsive epileptiform activity has been called
pseudoataxia in the scant literature on this subject. This process should
be considered in the evaluation of ataxia in children.
