[Clinical picture and pathogenesis of Rulf's purposeful convulsion]

Four RIC patients were subjected to combined clinical neurological, electrophysiological, psychological and biochemical investigation. Besides typical of RIC unilateral tonic convulsions in sudden and unprepared movements, several new clinical features were described including selective psychoclonic and voluntarily elicited convulsions and neurogenic tetany. Additional data point to substantial disorders in the integrative action of the median brain structures. The authors suggest that the disease is based upon the pathologic excitation irradiation from cortex to subcortical and brainstem areas with limbic-reticular dysfunction and secondary neurogenic tetany (with normal blood calcium content) playing the major roles. This notion provides a pathogenic basis for designing the effective therapy.