[Paroxysmal neurological manifestations disclosing panic attacks]

Thirty-seven patients presented with paroxysmal neurological manifestations attributed to anxiety attacks. The manifestations included loss of consciousness, focal sensorimotor deficits, diffuse dysesthaesiae, visual disorders and tremor. They lasted 10 to 45 minutes and occurred once per day to once per week. Organic pathology was dismissed on the basis of normal examinations and atypical course. In all patients questioning revealed symptoms that were those of acute anxiety. The fact that these attacks took place in suggestive (circumstances e.g. in crowds and car driving), and that they could be induced by challenge tests hyperpnoea, infusion of lactate) suggested that these disorders were consecutive to panic attacks.