[Diurnal and nocturnal paroxysmal dyskinesia in young children: a new entity?]

Paroxysmal dyskinesias are intermittent attacks of involuntary hyperkinetics abnormal movements. Among paroxysmal dyskinesias were individualized three entities: paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis, paroxysmal choreoathetosis of Mount and Reback, hypnogenic paroxysmal dystonia. New classifications are based upon the circumstances of occurrence, the duration of attacks and their etiology. We report here two observations of idiopathic non familial paroxysmal dyskinesias in three-year-old children. Both were seen first in consultation for falls and nocturnal motor agitation. The attacks were paroxysmal jerky "puppet-like" movements lasting from 20 seconds to 15 minutes. They could occur during non REM sleep, during the day, at rest, after a sudden movement, or during prolonged exercise. Carbamazepine was inefficient. These cases were not classifiable according to the classical criteria and could constitute a new entity. Moreover, some sleep-EEG showed abnormal patterns (frontal rapid rhythms, central spikes in one case) and led us to discuss the pathophysiology of this episodic movements disorder, and its relation with frontal partial epilepsy.