Clinical and electrophysiological study of neck myoclonus during sleep / 中华神经科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To discuss the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics of neck myoclonus during sleep.Methods:The clinical and electrophysiological characteristics of 31 patients in the Electroencephalography Monitoring Center of Xijing Hospital from January 2020 to August 2020 were studied retrospectively. All the patients received video-polysomnography and video-electroencephalography.Results:There were 22 males (71%) and nine females (29%) in the 31 patients. The mean age of the patients at the time of inclusion in the study was 27.8 years. Neck myoclonus was most common in patients with narcolepsy ( n=8), followed by epilepsy ( n=4), obstructive sleep apnea syndrome ( n=4), anxiety and depression ( n=3), snoring ( n=3), etc. A total of 555 motor events were considered and analyzed, 89.5% (497/555) of which occurred during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The mean neck myoclonus index in REM sleep (5.8) was significantly higher than that in non-rapid eye movement sleep (0.2). Totally 48.3% (268/555) of neck myoclonus were accompanied by an arousal, 0.7% (4/555) by a full awakening, and 2.7% (15/555) by limb movements. Conclusions:Neck myoclonus is common during REM sleep, which can occur in patients with sleep disorders and epilepsy. Physiological or pathological significance of neck myoclonus has to be investigated in further studies.