Does magnetoencephalography add to scalp video-EEG as a diagnostic tool in epilepsy surgery?
OBJECTIVE
The authors evaluated the sensitivity and selectivity of interictal magnetoencephalography (MEG) versus prolonged ictal and interictal scalp video-electroencephalography (V-EEG) in order to identify patient groups that would benefit from preoperative MEG testing.


METHODS
The authors evaluated 113 consecutive patients with medically refractory epilepsy who underwent surgery. The epileptogenic region predicted by interictal and ictal V-EEG and MEG was defined in relation to the resected area as perfectly overlapping with the resected area, partially overlapping, or nonoverlapping.


RESULTS
The sensitivity of a 30-minute interictal MEG study for detecting clinically significant epileptiform activity was 79.2%. Using MEG, we were able to localize the resected region in a greater proportion of patients (72.3%) than with noninvasive V-EEG (40%). MEG contributed to the localization of the resected region in 58.8% of the patients with a nonlocalizing V-EEG study and 72.8% of the patients for whom V-EEG only partially identified the resected zone. Overall, MEG and V-EEG results were equivalent in 32.3% of the cases, and additional localization information was obtained using MEG in 40% of the patients.


CONCLUSIONS
MEG is most useful for presurgical planning in patients who have either partially or nonlocalizing V-EEG results.
Pataraia
E
E
Department of Neurosurgery, Vivian L. Smith Center for Neurologic Research, University of Texas-Health Science Center at Houston, USA. epataraial@uth.tmc.edu
Simos
P G
PG
Castillo
E M
EM
Billingsley
R L
RL
Sarkari
S
S
Wheless
J W
JW
Maggio
V
V
Maggio
W
W
Baumgartner
J E
JE
Swank
P R
PR
Breier
J I
JI
Papanicolaou
A C
AC
D000200:Action Potentials; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity