Low dose quetiapine in the treatment of an adolescent with somnambulism: a case report.

Abstract

Somnambulism or sleepwalking is a sleep disorder of arousal. Compared to in adults, pediatric and adolescent sleep disorders is still under-researched and poorly described. We report the successful use of low dose quietiapine, an atypical antipsychotic, in the treatment of a 15-year-old Indian male who presented with significant somnambulism. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of quetiapine for the treatment of somnambulism in the literature. The presence of high voltage delta waves in sleepwalkers has been offered as a possible explanation for the patho-physiology of sleepwalking Quetiapine has been reported to decrease brain delta activity, and we postulate that this may be the mechanism on how it was beneficial for our patient.

• Authors: Jesjeet Singh Gill, Subash Kumar Pillai, Ong Hui Koh, Stephen Thevanathan Jambunathan
• Journal: Acta neurologica Belgica (Acta Neurol Belg) Vol. 111 Issue 2 Pg. 155-6 (Jun 2011) ISSN: 0300-9009 [Print] Italy
• PMID: 21748939 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antipsychotic Agents
• Dibenzothiazepines
• Quetiapine Fumarate

Topics

• Adolescent
• Antipsychotic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Dibenzothiazepines (therapeutic use)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Humans
• Male
• Quetiapine Fumarate
• Somnambulism (drug therapy)