Visual Electroencephalography Assessment in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Cognitive Disorders

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a noninvasive diagnostic tool that can be of diagnostic value in patients with cognitive disorders. In recent years, increasing emphasis has been on quantitative EEG analysis, which is not easily accessible in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of visual EEG assessment to distinguish different causes of cognitive disorders.

Patients with cognitive disorders from a specialized memory clinic cohort underwent routine workup including EEG, neuropsychological testing and brain imaging. Electroencephalography parameters including posterior dominant rhythm, background activity, and response to photic stimulation (intermittent photic stimulation) were visually scored. Final diagnosis was made by an expert panel.

A total of 501 patients were included and underwent full diagnostic workup. One hundred eighty-three patients had dementia (111 Alzheimer disease, 30 vascular dementia, 15 frontotemporal dementia, and 9 dementia with Lewy bodies), 66 patients were classified as mild cognitive impairment, and in 176, no neurologic diagnosis was made. Electroencephalography was abnormal in 60% to 90% of patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia, most profoundly in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer disease, while frontotemporal dementia had normal EEG relatively often. Only 30% of those without neurologic diagnosis had EEG abnormalities, mainly a diminished intermittent photic stimulation response. Odds ratio of conversion to dementia was 6.1 [1.5-24.7] for patients with mild cognitive impairment with abnormal background activity, compared with those with normal EEG.

Visual EEG assessment has diagnostic and prognostic value in clinical practice to distinguish patients with memory complaints without underlying neurologic disorder from patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.