“I feel my arm shaking”: partial cataplexy mistaken for drug-resistant focal epilepsy

- Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) may mimic epilepsy due to the presence of paroxysmal events.
- We present a case of a young man who received antiepileptic medication for 2 years.
- Partial attacks presented with “shaking of the upper limb” and “speech arrest”.
- Video-EEG monitoring revealed intermittent atonia, similar to negative myoclonus.
- Partial cataplexy may thus be misinterpreted as focal epilepsy.