[Epilepsy in renal insufficiency and accidental epileptic seizures during hemodialysis (artificial kidney)].

The authors, referring to 29 observed cases, review the characteristics of true renal epilepsy with regard both to attacks and to interictal periods. Their research shows that this type of epilepsy cannot be explained by any specific anatomical lesion but is probably functional and more specifically metabolic; it disappears when renal dialysis is performed. The authors accept that the factors liable to provoke this kind of epilepsy include cellular hyperhydration possibly associated with hypocalcaemia and with a genetic predisposition to convulsions. They reject the role of uraemia. This type of renal epilepsy is compared to the epileptic attacks provoked by renal dialysis.