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Tooth-brushing epilepsy: a report of a case with structural and functional imaging and electrophysiology
T J O'Brien1, R E Hogan, L Sedal
1Department of Clinical Neurosciences, St. Vincent's Hospital, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract:
Patients with reflex epilepsies may provide insights into cerebral pathophysiology. We report a patient with an unusual form of reflex epilepsy in whom seizures are induced by tooth brushing. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a right posterior frontal low-grade tumor predominantly involving the precentral gyrus. Video-telemetry demonstrated right-sided epileptiform activity during a typical induced complex partial seizure. An ictal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scan showed an area of hyperfusion that corresponded to the MRI lesion on coregistration with a surface-matching technique. A subsequent coregistered interictal SPECT scan demonstrated hypoperfusion in the same region. Ours is the first report to demonstrate a structural focus in this unusual form of reflex epilepsy. Possible mechanisms to explain the induction of the seizures are discussed.