OLFACTORY PRODROMAL SYMPTOMS AND UNILATERAL OLFACTORY DYSFUNCTION AREASSOCIATED IN PATIENTS WITH RIGHT MESIAL TEMPORAL-LOBE EPILEPSY

Purpose: We report a patient with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) with olfactory prodromal symptoms manifested as an unpleasant smell o f onions, who was found to have an ipsilateral deficit of olfactory na ming (olfactory agnosia). Methods and Results: Preoperative olfactory testing revealed a selective right-sided olfactory deficit for naming of odors. Olfactory threshold was within the normal range. The patient has been seizure free after selective amygdalohippocampectomy for 4 m onths. No olfactory prodromal events have occurred since surgery. Olfa ctory testing 3 months after resection showed that right-sided odor na ming was still impaired. Conclusions: We conclude that olfactory prodr omal symptoms may be associated with unilateral olfactory dysfunction, and lateralization of seizure origin may be possible by unilateral ol factory testing.