Jeavon syndrome as a differential diagnosis of facial tics

The patient was born after uneventful pregnancy at term without problems, and developmental milestones were reached within a normal range. There is no family history of epilepsy or other chronic diseases. At the age of 4 years, he was treated with occupational therapy because of perception disorder. During this time, the mother realized first some absences combined with obvious eyelid flutter. Since the age of 7 years, frequency of these episodes was raising, and as the child additionally started stammering, behavioral training was started because of suspected tic disorder.

At the age of 8 years, an otorhinolaryngologist observed multiple tics as well as eyelid myoclonia with speech arrest. The following video EEG presented typical, paroxysmal, generalized epileptic discharges during eye closure, and Jeavon syndrome could be proved.

Jeavon syndrome (eyelid myoclonia and absences) is a rare form of idiopathic generalized (genetic) epilepsy in children. The main symptom is short eyelid myoclonia sensitive to eye closure (with or without absences) that can easily be misdiagnosed as facial tic.