EEG discharges on awakening: a marker of idiopathic generalized epilepsy.
In a series of 24-hour ambulatory EEG recordings from 1,000 consecutive adult outpatients (44.5% with generalized and 55.5% with partial epilepsy, one recording per patient), the authors found only 46 (4.6%) activations of epileptiform discharges on awakening. All recordings came from patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy, predominantly with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and generalized tonic-clonic seizures on awakening. Multiple spike discharges that develop with an unusually delayed onset after arousal (more than 10 minutes) might help to discriminate juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.
Fittipaldi
F
F
Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo "Neuromed", IRCCS, Pozzilli, Italy.
Currà
A
A
Fusco
L
L
Ruggieri
S
S
Manfredi
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004830:Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020190:Myoclonic Epilepsy, Juvenile / Q000175:diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies