[Importance of imaging diagnostics and EEG for differential diagnosis of epileptic seizures]

Abstract

Electroencephalography (EEG) and neuroimaging are the two most crucial diagnostic methods for epilepsy. The EEG represents the only specific method to detect epileptogenicity of a brain lesion. The EEG shows some syndrome-specific alterations, helps to make therapeutic decisions and allows prognosis about the disease. Neuroimaging in epilepsy includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Neuroimaging is crucial to clarify the underlying etiology and to localize the epileptogenic zone and has contributed to expanding the spectrum of patients where epilepsy surgery can be provided. Both EEG and neuroimaging are valuable methods in the hands of experienced epileptologists but both can also be misdiagnosed and lead to a wrong diagnosis and treatment decisions. This review discusses the contribution of both methods, their potential role and limitations and shows typical examples of wrong interpretation.

Keywords: Computed tomography; Epilepsy diagnostics; Magnetic resonance imaging; Positron emission tomography; Single-photon emission computed tomography.