[Gelastic seizures: etiology, semiology, therapeutic perspectives]

Gelastic seizures (laughing seizures) are a rare type of epileptic seizure in which laugh in a main and dominating manifestation of the seizure. As a rule, the seizures are caused by organic cerebral pathology and are often reported as a specific epilepsy marker related to hypothalamic hamartoma. The interictal EEG frequently shows a focal activity. Based on examination of 2 patients with gelastic seizures and hypothalamic hamartoma, clinical features, EEG characteristics and therapeutic perspectives for the disorder are discussed.