'Respiratory epilepsy'--does it exist?

Past literature suggests a possible relationship between two recurrent illnesses: bronchial asthma and epilepsy. Only one preliminary study, performed 30 years ago, demonstrated epileptiform EEG activity in patients with bronchial asthma who were treated successfully for their asthma with antiepileptic drugs. We demonstrated epileptiform activity in six out of 24 (25%) children with bronchial asthma who had no history of neurological illnesses or epilepsy, compared to one out of 24 (4.2%) children in the control group. This relatively high percentage of EEG abnormalities raises the possibility that there is a subgroup of patients with bronchial asthma, in whom the asthma might be considered as an 'epileptic equivalent'. These patients possibly deserve a different, unique therapeutic approach.