Scalp-recorded high-frequency oscillations in atypical benign partial epilepsy
Objective:
To investigate how high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) were affected by methylprednisolone treatment and the clinical significance of HFOs in patients with atypical benign partial epilepsy (ABPE).
Methods:
In 14 ABPE patients with methylprednisolone treatment, we measured interictal HFOs and spikes during sleep in pre- and post-methylprednisolone scalp electroencephalography (EEG). Patients with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) were taken as control.
Results:
Before methylprednisolone treatment, 10/14 ABPE patients had HFOs, with a mean value of 85.79 per 60s per patient, while 2/14 BECTS patients had HFOs with a mean value of 1.86 per 60s per patient (p=0.006). The 10 ABPE patients with HFOs tended to have more frequent epileptic negative myoclonus/atypical absences than the other 4 ABPE patients without HFOs. Rates reduced by methylprednisolone treatment were statistically significant for both spikes (p=0.027) and HFOs (p=0.005). The percentage of reduction was 41.8% (4653/11,133) and 95% (1141/1202) for spikes and HFOs, respectively.
Conclusion:
Proportion and rates of HFOs in ABPE were more prevalent than in BECTS. HFO rates reduced by methylprednisolone treatment might be more significant than spike rates.
Significance:
Prevalence of HFOs reflected at least some aspect of epileptic severity of ABPE. HFOs were more sensitive to methylprednisolone treatment than spikes.
