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Research paper

Subclinical 'electrical status epilepticus' induced by sleep in children

Original description of the near-continuous spike-wave pattern during non-REM sleep in children that was later named ESES and became the electrographic substrate for DEE-SWAS. Coined the term 'subclinical electrical status epilepticus induced by sleep' and documented the dissociation between sleep-activated electrographic status and daytime clinical seizure semiology.

Indexed context

Patry G, Lyagoubi S, Tassinari CA

esescswshistoricaloriginal-descriptionpediatric

Markdown path

content/research/papers/1971-patry-lyagoubi-tassinari-subclinical-ese-sleep.md

Findings

Original description of the near-continuous spike-wave pattern during non-REM sleep in children that was later named ESES and became the electrographic substrate for DEE-SWAS. Coined the term 'subclinical electrical status epilepticus induced by sleep' and documented the dissociation between sleep-activated electrographic status and daytime clinical seizure semiology.

Why it may matter for Levi

Historical anchor only; no direct clinical bearing on Levi's management. Useful when explaining to new providers that DEE-SWAS is a well-characterized, decades-old syndrome rather than a novel diagnosis.

Paper text

Patry, Lyagoubi, Tassinari (1971) — Subclinical electrical status epilepticus induced by sleep

Source

Why this paper is in the corpus

Original description of the sleep-activated EEG pattern that was later named Electrical Status Epilepticus in Sleep (ESES) and became the electrographic substrate for what the ILAE 2022 nomenclature calls DEE-SWAS. This is the foundational citation for every downstream ESES / CSWS paper in Levi's corpus.

Key findings

  • Described children with near-continuous generalized spike-and-wave discharges occurring specifically during non-REM sleep, often without overt clinical seizure correlates during the discharges themselves.
  • Coined the descriptive term "subclinical electrical status epilepticus induced by sleep."
  • Documented the dissociation between sleep-activated electrographic status and daytime clinical seizure semiology that remains the defining electrographic feature of the syndrome.

Levi-relevant takeaways

  • Historical anchor; no direct clinical bearing on Levi's current management beyond establishing that sleep-activated spike-wave has been recognized as a distinct entity for 50+ years.
  • Useful when explaining to family or new providers that DEE-SWAS / ESES is a well-characterized, long-studied syndrome rather than a novel or boutique diagnosis.

Citation note

Referenced as [1] in the 2026-04-21 user-supplied comprehensive DEE-SWAS / ESES / CSWS research report.