Ml. Tsai et Kl. Hung, TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING AND CLINICAL ANALYSIS OF BENIGN CHILDHOOD EPILEPSY WITH CENTROTEMPORAL SPIKES, Brain & development, 20(1), 1998, pp. 27-32
We studied the topographic mapping of the electroencephalography (EEG)
of 47 children whose clinical history and course were compatible with
typical benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECT).
Twenty-nine (62%) patients showed typical dipole fields, with a negat
ive potential field in the centrotemporal region and a positive field
in the frontal region. Eighteen children did not demonstrate the typic
al dipole field. Their non-dipole rolandic discharges were localized i
n small fields of centrotemporal region. The patients with dipole fiel
ds in BCECT had significantly less frequent seizures than patients wit
hout dipole fields. Twelve of the 47 patients with BCECT (26%) had mor
e than one EEG focus. The clinical courses of patients with multiple f
oci were not worse than those of patients with a single focus. We conc
lude that EEG topographic mapping is helpful in identifying typical or
atypical EEG topographic patterns in patients with clinically diagnos
ed BCECT. We also conclude that the presence of dipole field usually i
ndicates a better clinical course of epilepsy and multiple foci do not
mean a poor clinical course. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.