Video-EEG Study of Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures: Differential Characteristics in Patients with and without Epilepsy

Summary:  Purpose: Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are episodes that may resemble epileptic seizures (ES) but are not associated with abnormal electrical discharges in the brain. Video-EEG recording of a typical episode is considered the best diagnostic tool available. PNES are, however, also documented in patients with epilepsy (PNES/ES). The purpose of this study was to assess this comorbid population, focusing on the differences between patients with PNES/ES and patients with PNES alone.
Methods: We reviewed 110 PNES episodes, occurring spontaneously or induced by means of suggestion techniques, recorded in our video-EEG laboratory over a period of eight years. We identified two subgroups of patients, consisting of 85 PNES cases and 25 PNES/ES cases, and assessed any differences in their characteristics by reviewing a number of variables (age, sex, clinical features, antiepileptic therapy, age of onset, time to diagnosis, pathological history, and length of follow-up).
Results: The comparison between the two subgroups revealed that PNES/ES patients displayed some statistically significant differences when compared with PNES alone patients, i.e., younger age, a higher percentage of spontaneously activated events, a shorter disease duration, a longer time to PNES diagnosis, and a lower percentage lost at follow-up.
Conclusions: This study confirms that PNES is a common, though probably underestimated, occurrence in epilepsy services. Our results shed light on some different characteristics between PNES and PNES/ES patients.     

录像脑电图对癫痫治疗撤药的指导价值

目的 观察3年无发作癫痫患者停药前脑电图异常率，并指导停药。方法 对26例无发作患者在停药前实施录像脑电监护。结果 26例病人中，9例发现异常，而且这些异常大多出现在睡眠期和病史较长、多药联合治疗和全面性发作的患者。结论 癫痫患者停药前实施录像脑电图监护是必要的。     

Differential Diagnosis in Pseudoepileptic Seizures

Summary: With increasing use of intensive video-EEG monitoring, publications concerning pseudoepileptic seizures have burgeoned, but without clarification concerning differing psychopathologic mechanisms and without distinction of different syndromic varieties. The frequent concurrence of pseudoepileptic and epileptic seizures has not been sufficiently recognized, and an undue reliance on clinical experience on the one hand and individual tests such as EEG on the other has proven equally misleading in this group of cases.     

同步录像脑电图在癫（疒/间）外科诊疗中的应用价值

目的：探讨同步录像脑电图（Video-EEG)在癫痫外科诊疗中的意义。方法；对30例难治性癫痫患者进行普通脑电图（REEG）、Video-EEG、术中皮层脑电图（ECoG)及神经影像学检查（CT或（和）MRI），并比较其结果。结果：30例患者中，REEG监测到棘波19例，检出率63％；Video-EEG监测到棘波29例，检出率97％；神经影像学检查发现23例有异常病灶（77％），其中20例定位与Video-EEG完全一致（87％）。在30例手术患者中，29例ECoG的癫痫灶定位与术前Video-EEG一致（97％）。结论：Video-EEG对于癫痫的定位诊断以及指导手术治疗有相当重要的临床价值。     

长程视频脑电图监测癫痫发作及在致痫灶定位中的意义

目的：探讨癫痫发作间期和发作期脑电图（EEG）变化特点与发作症状在致痫灶定位中的作用。方法：对80例癫痫患者进行视频脑电图（VEEG）监测,分析其发作间期、发作期EEG特点及临床发作表现作致痫灶定位。结果：80例癫痫患者中,发作间期38例和发作期60例EEG及59例临床发作症状可提供明确的致痫灶定位信息。结论：在致痫灶定位中,发作期与发作间期EEG相比,可提供较高比例的定位信息;综合分析发作问期、发作期EEG和临床发作症状,可以获得大部分癫痫患者致痫灶的定位信息,为放置颅内电极作准确致痫灶定位的重要参考。     

耐药性颞叶内侧癫痫发作前期海马脑电特征分析

目的 观察耐药性颞叶内侧癫痫患者发作前期海马电极脑电活动特点,为判断和切除癫痫病灶提供神经电生理学依据.方法 对16例非侵入性手段难以明确病灶的耐药性颞叶内侧癫痫患者进行双侧海马电极监测,患者停用抗癫痫药在非麻醉状态下监测48～72 h,分析癫痫发作前期海马电极脑电图资料,探讨耐药性颞叶内侧癫痫发作前期海马电极脑电活动特点.结果 16例发作间期记录到背景活动基础上出现局限于某几个电极点的阵发性高幅慢波1例、发作性快波节律1例、棘波或棘尖慢复合波14例,视为异常脑电活动;经过48～ 72 h监测,10例监测到33次临床癫痫发作,发作起始期海马电极均可记录到清晰可辨的癫痫样脑电波形.结论 颞叶内侧癫痫临床发作起始期海马电极癫痫样放电清晰可辨,部位局限,易于确定癫痫性活动起源部位.对于非侵入性手段难以判断癫痫样放电起源的颞叶内侧癫痫可采用脑立体定向技术植入海马深部电极进行脑电监测.     

Visual phenomena and anatomo-electro-clinical correlations in occipital lobe seizures

BackgroundOccipital lobe seizure are underrepresented in epilepsy surgery cases series. This may reflect the fear for post-surgical functional deficits but also the doubt about the ability of anatomo-electro-clinical correlations to localize precisely the epileptogenic zone in occipital lobe seizure.MethodsIn this expert opinion paper, we review first the general clinical characteristics of occipital lobe seizures, describe the repertoire of visual phenomena and oculo-motor signes in occipital seizures, describe inter-ictal and ictal EEG and finally the possible schemes of epileptogenic zone organization.ResultsVisual and oculo-motor semiology points towards occipital onset seizures but is neither pathognomonic nor constant. Eyes version and unilateral ictal discharge have a strong lateralizing value but inter-ictal spikes as well as eyes version can be falsely lateralizing.ConclusionAlthough visual and oculo-motor phenomena are characteristic of occipital lobe seizures, they may be discrete, overlooked and should therefore be carefully assessed. There are no clear electro-clinical correlations of a sublobar organization of occipital seizures but the clinical pattern of propagation might help to differentiate complex occipito-temporal from occipito-parietal initial epileptogenic network.     

视频脑电图在新生儿惊厥中的诊断意义探讨

目的探讨视频脑电图(VEEG)在新生儿惊厥中的诊断意义。方法对首次疑为癫痫性发作的130例新生儿惊厥者进行4~6 h VEEG监测,对其脑电波形及临床发作情况进行分析,监测3~5年。对于重度及中度癫痫性发作患儿给予口服鲁米那或托吡酯治疗。结果首次视频脑电图异常率90.8%(118/130),癫痫性发作48例(重度11例,中度15例,轻度22例),非癫痫性发作70例。治疗2~4周VEEG异常率75.4%(98/130),癫痫性发作40例,非癫痫性发作58例。随访3~5年癫痫性发作22例(16.9%),非癫痫性发作0例。结论在新生儿惊厥的临床诊断及鉴别诊断,区别癫痫性发作与非癫痫性发作及对癫痫患儿的治疗和预后判断上,VEEG是有重要意义的指标。     

Electrocardiographic changes at the onset of epileptic seizures

PURPOSE: We studied heart-rate (HR) changes at the transition from the preictal to the ictal state in patients with focal epilepsies to gain some insight into the mechanisms involved in the neuronal regulation of cardiovascular function. METHODS: We assessed ECG changes during 145 seizures recorded with scalp EEG in 58 patients who underwent video-EEG monitoring. Consecutive RR intervals were analyzed with a newly developed mathematical method for a total of 90 s. RESULTS: Ictal-onset tachycardia occurred in 86.9% of all seizures, whereas bradycardia was documented only in 1.4%. The incidence as well as the amount of ictal HR increase was significantly more pronounced in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) as compared with those with non-lesional TLE or extratemporal epilepsy. Moreover, right hemispheric seizures were associated with ictal-onset tachycardia. On average, ictal HR increase preceded EEG seizure onset by 13.7 s in TLE patients and 8.2 s in patients with extratemporal epilepsy. This difference was significant. Ictal HR changes could be classified according to their temporal evolution into two different patterns. These two patterns differed significantly between the temporal lobe and the extratemporal epilepsy patient group. CONCLUSIONS: Epileptic discharges directly influence areas of the central autonomic network, thus regulating HR and rhythm. Such changes occur before ictal discharges appear on surface electrodes. Our newly developed method may be of potential use for clinical applications such as automatic seizure-detection systems. Moreover, our method might help to clarify further the basic mechanisms of interactions between heart and brain.     

Psychogenic,nonepileptic seizures associated with video-EEG-verified sleep

PURPOSE: Nonepileptic seizures (NES) are expressions of a psychiatric disease state, usually conversion disorder, that mimic epileptic seizures (ES) but are not associated with the neurophysiologic changes of epilepsy. Conversion has not been demonstrated to emerge from the sleeping state. Emergence out of sleep is usually considered a virtual exclusion criterion for NES, signifying the presence instead of ES. We sought to test this hypothesis. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the video-EEG of all patients admitted to our epilepsy unit over a 3-year period, who were suspected of manifesting NES. We examined the relation between NES and the patients' sleep/wake state in this cohort. Two epileptologists blindly reviewed an intermixture of cases suspected to represent NES emerging out of sleep, together with control cases. Classification of each case was made independently. RESULTS: We found that in a small minority of patients (<1%), NES began either while the patient was sleeping, or within several seconds of arousal, well before a plan to simulate a seizure could likely have been formulated in the wakeful state. CONCLUSIONS: In some cases, NES are not the product of the awake mind, but rather represent a psychiatric condition that can be manifest in sleep.