Scalp electroencephalographic biomarkers in epilepsy patients with focal cortical dysplasia

To assess scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns as possible biomarkers for an underlying focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) in patients with structural epilepsy.

Scalp electroencephalograms (EEGs) of epilepsy patients with histologically confirmed diagnosis of FCD type I or II (n = 71, age = 3-66 years, 28 female) and of controls with other underlying pathologies (n = 43, age = 2-60 years, 16 female) were retrospectively evaluated regarding the presence or absence of 12 scalp EEG patterns previously reported to be associated with FCD. Furthermore, 2 subgroups of these biomarkers with common characteristics were also analyzed. Each of the 12 biomarkers was tested for association with FCD by comparing the presence of each feature in FCD patients and controls using Fisher exact test.

A significant association with FCD as underlying etiology was found for 6 of 12 previously reported biomarkers. With decreasing odds ratios, these were continuous epileptiform discharges, 2 types of rhythmic epileptiform discharges, polyspikes, frequent rhythmic bursting epileptiform activity, and repetitive discharges as well as the subgroups containing repetitive activity and polyspikes, respectively. Presence of EEG biomarkers was independent of a visible underlying magnetic resonance imaging-visible lesion, and had similar prevalence with FCD I and II. Individual biomarkers had specificities of 65 to 98% and sensitivities of 17 to 61% for an underlying FCD, and combinations of EEG biomarkers achieved 100% specificity.

This study confirms that there are several surface EEG biomarkers significantly associated with an underlying cortical dysplasia. These biomarkers may aid in localizing suspicious brain regions and provide evidence for dysplastic brain tissue also in nonlesional patients of either histological FCD subtype. Ann Neurol 2018;84:564-575.