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Focal epileptic seizure induced by transient hypoglycaemia in insulin-treated diabetes
Leonardo Lapenta1, Carlo Di Bonaventura, Jinane Fattouch
1Department of Neurological Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, University of Rome, Italy. malvezz@hotmail.it
Abstract:
Hypoglycaemia, common in diabetic patients treated with insulin, can induce various neurological disturbances. Of these, seizures are the most common acute symptom, mainly of the generalised tonic-clonic type, with focal events only exceptionally being reported and documented. Hypoglycaemia can modify cortical excitability by determining an imbalance between excitation and inhibition; some brain structures, such as the temporal lobe and hippocampus, appear to be particularly susceptible to this insult. We describe a case of a 61-year-old diabetic patient in whom insulin-induced transient hypoglycaemia triggered a focal seizure of temporal origin that was well documented by EEG during 24-hour ambulatory monitoring. This is, to our knowledge, one of the few, well-documented cases of this type of seizure.
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