Magnetic resonance in epilepsy [RESONANCIA MAGNETICA EN EPILEPSIA] Article uri icon

abstract

  • We evaluated MRI findings in 135 patients with epilepsy to determine the value of this neuroimaging technique in the diagnosis of this condition. One hundred and twelve (82.6%25) patients had an abnormal MRI. Abnormalities included: a) in patients with cryptogenic epilepsy: temporal lobe sclerosis (27 cases), focal encephalomalacia (8 cases), diffuse cerebral atrophy (7 cases), cerebral hemiatrophy (5 cases), and abnormalities in neuronal migration (3 cases), and b) in patients with secondary epilepsy: infectious diseases (29 cases), cerebrovascular lesions (17 cases), brain tumors (9 cases), and other pathologies (2 cases). Twenty-five of the 29 patients with epilepsy due to infectious diseases had neurocysticercosis. We conclude that MRI is of value in the evaluation of patients with epilepsy, as it permits the detection of cerebral lesions that are not visualized with other neuroimaging methods.

publication date

  • 1995-01-01