Focal epileptic seizure induced by transient hypoglycaemia in insulin‐treated diabetes

ABSTRACT Hypoglycaemia, common in diabetic patients treated with insulin, can induce various neurological disturbances. Of these, seizures are the most common acute symptom, mainly of the generalised tonic‐clonic type, with focal events only exceptionally being reported and documented. Hypoglycaemia can modify cortical excitability by determining an imbalance between excitation and inhibition; some brain structures, such as the temporal lobe and hippocampus, appear to be particularly susceptible to this insult. We describe a case of a 61‐year‐old diabetic patient in whom insulin‐induced transient hypoglycaemia triggered a focal seizure of temporal origin that was well documented by EEG during 24‐hour ambulatory monitoring. This is, to our knowledge, one of the few, well‐documented cases of this type of seizure.