title: Mirror focus in a patient with intractable occipital lobe epilepsy.
abstract: Mirror focus is one of the evidence of progression in epilepsy, and also has practical points for curative resective epilepsy surgery. The mirror foci are related to the kindling phenomena that occur through interhemispheric callosal or commissural connections. A mirror focus means the secondary epileptogenic foci develop in the contralateral hemispheric homotopic area. Thus mirror foci are mostly reported in patients with temporal or frontal lobe epilepsy, but not in occipital lobe epilepsy. We have observed occipital lobe epilepsy with mirror focus. Before epilepsy surgery, the subject's seizure onset zone was observed in the left occipital area by ictal studies. Her seizures abated for 10 months after the resection of left occipital epileptogenic focus, but recurred then. The recurred seizures were originated from the right occipital area which was in the homotopic contralateral area. This case can be an evidence that occipital lobe epilepsy may have mirror foci, even though each occipital lobe has any direct interhemispheric callosal connections between them.
authors: Department of Neurology, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan;
authors: Jiyoung
authors: J
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Neurology, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan;
authors: Hae Kyung
authors: HK
authors: Shin
authors: Department of Neurology, Kyoung Hee University Hospital, Kyoung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul;
authors: Kyoung Jin
authors: KJ
authors: Hwang
authors: Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul;
authors: Su Jung
authors: SJ
authors: Choi
authors: Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul;
authors: Eun Yeon
authors: EY
authors: Joo
authors: Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul;
authors: Seung Bong
authors: SB
authors: Hong
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Seung Chul
authors: SC
authors: Hong
authors: Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul;
authors: Dae-Won
authors: DW
authors: Seo
keywords: Epilepsy surgery; Mirror focus; Occipital lobe epilepsy