Ictal urinary urge: further evidence for lateralization to the nondominant hemisphere.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the lateralizing value of ictal urinary urgency.


METHODS
A retrospective database search was performed for patients with ictal urinary urgency admitted to the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at the Cleveland Clinic between 1994 and 2001.


RESULTS
Six patients were identified; intracarotid amytal test demonstrated left hemispheric speech dominance in five cases. The sixth patient continued to speak during right temporal seizures. EEG and imaging data supported right temporal or frontotemporal epilepsy in all six cases. Two patients were seizure free after focal right hemispheric resection.


CONCLUSIONS
Ictal urinary urge appears to be a lateralizing sign for nondominant temporal lobe epilepsy.
Loddenkemper
Tobias
T
Section of Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders, Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. Loddent@ccf.org
Foldvary
Nancy
N
Raja
Shanker
S
Neme
Silvia
S
Lüders
Hans O
HO
D000328:Adult; D000654:Amobarbital; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D017034:Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D014554:Urination / Q000502:physiology*; D014563:Urodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D014741:Video Recording
D000654:Amobarbital