Table of Contents
What does epileptiform activity mean?
Epileptiform activity on EEG is indicative of cortical hyperexcitability, which carries an increased risk for seizures and the presence of an epileptic network within the brain. There are several types of epileptiform activity, including single discharges (sharps and spikes) and rhythmic and/or periodic activity.
What does no epileptiform activity mean?
The absence of epileptiform activity during the first 30 minutes of cEEG monitoring predicts a low risk of subsequent seizures.
What does epileptiform activity look like on EEG?
Both classes of epileptic seizures can occur at all ages. An epileptiform activity in EEG signals including spikes, sharp waves, or spike-and-wave complexes can be evident not only during a seizure (the ictal period) but also a short time before (the preictal period) as well as between seizures (the interictal period).
What causes epileptiform activity?
The most common cause of PLEDs is an acute or subacute structural injury of the cerebral cortex, either diffuse or focal; however, PLEDs may also be seen in patients with a chronic static cerebral lesion or chronic epilepsy.
What causes epileptiform?
Epilepsy has no identifiable cause in about half the people with the condition. In the other half, the condition may be traced to various factors, including: Genetic influence. Some types of epilepsy, which are categorized by the type of seizure you experience or the part of the brain that is affected, run in families.
What are subclinical epileptiform discharges?
Subclinical epileptiform discharges were defined as paroxysmal EEG graphoelements (spikes or sharp waves) with 20–200 ms duration, with the disruption of background EEG activity, followed by slow waves (Noachtar and Rémi, 2009).
Does epileptiform mean epilepsy?
Interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), meaning spikes, polyspikes, sharp waves, or spike and slow-wave complexes without observed clinical seizures, are commonly observed in children with epilepsy. Neuropsychological evidence indicates that childhood epilepsy often has negative effects on cognitive function [2].
Are epileptiform discharges epilepsy?
What is spike and wave in EEG?
Spike-and-wave is a pattern of the electroencephalogram (EEG) typically observed during epileptic seizures. A spike-and-wave discharge is a regular, symmetrical, generalized EEG pattern seen particularly during absence epilepsy, also known as ‘petit mal’ epilepsy.
What is focal epileptiform discharges?
Focal interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) are sharply contoured transients that are distinct from and usually interrupt background activities. IEDs are almost always of negative polarity at the scalp surface. IEDs usually occur sporadically.
What is epilepsy management?
medicines called anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) surgery to remove a small part of the brain that’s causing the seizures. a procedure to put a small electrical device inside the body that can help control seizures. a special diet (ketogenic diet) that can help control seizures.
What is the difference between convulsion and epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a chronic neurologic condition. Convulsions can be a reaction to a single medical event or a part of a medical condition.
What is difference between convulsion and seizure?
A convulsion is a general term that people use to describe uncontrollable muscle contractions. Some people may use it interchangeably with the word “seizure,” although a seizure refers to an electrical disturbance in the brain. Seizures may cause a person to have convulsions, but this is not always the case.
Are epileptiform discharges normal?
While periodic epileptiform discharges (PEDs) are always an abnormal finding on electroencephalograms (EEGs), their significance is often uncertain.
What is background activity in EEG?
The normal background EEG during wakefulness contains posteriorly dominant, symmetrical, and reactive alpha rhythm. Alpha activity is more prominent in amplitude during relaxed, eyes-closed wakefulness and demonstrates (more…)
What are epileptiform spikes?
Epileptiform transients such as spikes and sharp waves are the interictal marker of a patient with epilepsy and are the EEG signature of a seizure focus. Nonepileptiform abnormalities are characterized by alterations in normal rhythms or by the appearance of abnormal ones.
What is interictal epileptiform activity?
Interictal epileptiform activity includes spikes, sharp waves, and paroxysmal fast activity, and their combinations with slow waves, such as spike-and-wave complexes (spike followed by a slow wave) and polyspike-and-wave complexes (multiple spikes followed by a slow wave).
What is the role of epileptiform activity in epilepsy diagnosis?
It is important to note that the presence of epileptiform activity is not sufficient for a diagnosis of epilepsy in a patient with no history of seizures. In a patient with a history of seizures, epileptiform activity in between seizures (interictal activity) is useful in helping to localize seizure onset.
What is epileptiform discharge in epilepsy?
In a patient with a history of seizures, epileptiform activity in between seizures (interictal activity) is useful in helping to localize seizure onset. Any epileptiform discharge is a disruption of the usual functioning of the brain, and sharps and spikes are perhaps the most classic type.
What is the meaning of epileptiform?
Definition of epileptiform : resembling that of epilepsy an epileptiform convulsion : resembling that of epilepsy an epileptiform convulsion