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Extreme startle and photomyoclonic response in severe hypocalcaemia Volume 16, issue 1, March 2014

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  • Extreme startle and photomyoclonic response in severe hypocalcaemia

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  • Figure 1
Authors
1 Epilepsy Centre, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Science and Odontostomatology, Federico II University, Naples, Italy
2 Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
3 Pediatric Neurology and Muscular Diseases Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophtalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, “G Gaslini” Institute, Genoa, Italy
* Correspondence: Salvatore Striano Epilepsy Centre, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Science and Odontostomatology, Federico II University, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy

We report the case of 62-year-old woman referred to our department because of a clinical suspicion of tonic-clonic seizures. Clinical examination revealed an exaggerated startle reflex, EEG showed a photomyoclonic response, and blood tests indicated severe hypocalcaemia. Additional clinical data, treatment strategies, and long-term follow-up visits were reported. The present report discusses the difficulties in distinguishing between epileptic and non-epileptic startles, and shows, for the first time, exaggerated startle reflex and extreme photomyoclonic response due to severe hypocalcaemia. [Published with video sequences]