Gelastic seizures and fever originating from a parietal cortical dysplasia

Gelastic seizures (GS) is an uncommon seizure type characterized by sudden inappropriate attacks of uncontrolled and unmotivated laugh and its diagnostic criteria were elaborated by Gascon. These criteria included stereotypical recurrence of laugh, which is unjustified by the context, associated signs compatible with seizure, and ictal or interictal abnormalities. GS can be cryptogenic or symptomatic of a variety of cerebral lesions, the most common being hypothalamic hamartoma. However, GS associated with other types of cerebral lesions are exceedingly rare. The physiopathologic mechanisms of this type of seizure are still undefined. Two reports have described a non-lesional GS arising from a parietal focus. In this paper, we report the first case of lesional GS associated to the parietal area of the brain in a child and this case has associated fever that is likely an ictal symptom.