Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40034179›Full record

ArticleEpilepsy & behavior reports2025

Gelastic spells in Angelman Syndrome, when laughter isn't funny.

Natasha Varughese, Femke Horn, Robert P Carson

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Epilepsy & behavior reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Natasha VarugheseMonroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, 2200 Children's Way, Nashville, TN, 27232, USA.
Femke HornMonroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, 2200 Children's Way, Nashville, TN, 27232, USA.
Robert P CarsonMonroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, 2200 Children's Way, Nashville, TN, 27232, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by people with a characteristic happy demeanor, impaired expressive communication, sleep disruptions, and a variety of paroxysmal events, including seizures and movement disorders. Herein, we report three cases, one child and two adults with AS, of gelastic (laugh-related) spells. The phenomenology in all three is most consistent with gelastic syncope. A fourth example demonstrating transient breath-holding while laughing is included for reference. We subsequently review the differential for gelastic spells in AS, including seizures and cataplexy, and expound on the importance of their identification in the context of risk factors for cardiac arrhythmia. This work adds gelastic syncope to the list of paroxysmal events in AS and may serve to inform providers and parents of this phenotype and provide guidance for subsequent evaluation and treatment if indicated.

Indexed as

Angelman SyndromeCataplexyGelastic seizuresGelastic syncopeLaughter

Identifiers

PMID40034179
PMCPMC11872623

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.