Electrical status epilepticus "invisible" to surface EEG in late-onset Rasmussen encephalitis

Epileptic Disord. 2008 Sep;10(3):219-22. doi: 10.1684/epd.2008.0200.

Abstract

Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) is a chronic, progressive disease that typically occurs in childhood, rarely in adulthood. When it does occur in adulthood, it may be associated with atypical electro-clinical features, and neuroimaging alterations usually help diagnosis. Unlike childhood forms, in which epilepsia partialis continua is usually observed, the EEG pattern in adult variants may be aspecific. We describe a highly interesting case of late-onset RE in which an electrical status epilepticus was not detected by the surface EEG, but by a recording with subdural electrodes.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Brain / pathology
  • Brain / physiopathology
  • Electrodes
  • Electroencephalography / instrumentation
  • Electroencephalography / methods*
  • Encephalitis / diagnosis*
  • Encephalitis / pathology
  • Encephalitis / physiopathology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Status Epilepticus / diagnosis*
  • Status Epilepticus / pathology
  • Status Epilepticus / physiopathology*