Epidemiology 1
Self-induced epilepsy is a rare condition.5,77 This phenomenon was observed in only one patient, of the 10,000 patients with epilepsy studied,78 in only two records, of the 20,000 EEG records studied,79 and in five patients, of the 460 patients with photosensitivity.1 Of the 22 patients with epilepsy and photosensitivity, studied by Darby et al,76 seven had self-induced paroxysmal activity and/or seizures by slow eye closure. Self-induced epilepsy is more frequently reported from the Indian subcontinent. In a study in south India by Iyer,80 of the 2000 patients with epilepsy 11 patients satisfied the criteria for photosensitive epilepsy. All but one had features of self-induced epilepsy. Hand waving and rubbing and flickering of eyelids were the techniques employed to induce seizures. Six patients in addition had heliotaxis, impulsive attraction to sunlight. In our study, of the 1298 patients with epilepsy, eight had self-induced epilepsy.
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