Article Text
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Identification and avoidance of factors that trigger or exacerbate seizures is important in patients with epilepsy. The most common factors are sleep disturbance, alcohol ingestion, drugs, stress, and photosensitivity. The present case is the first report of seizures exacerbated by obstructive sleep apnoea. Treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) given through a nasal mask abolished nocturnal seizures and greatly reduced the frequency of daytime attacks.
The patient, now aged 30 years, was born three weeks prematurely. Moderate mental retardation was noted at the age of five years and subsequent chromosomal analysis disclosed trisomy 4p. Dysmorphic features associated with trisomy 4p1 included dysplasia of the nasal bones, hypertelorism, and a short neck. Radiology of the cervical spine showed incomplete fusion of the neural arch of C5 with a small spinous process of C6. He was not obese. Epilepsy began at 12 years of age with atypical absence and tonic-clonic seizures. Treatment …