Successful surgical treatment of insular epilepsy with nocturnal hypermotor seizures

Epilepsia. 2008 Jan;49(1):159-62. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2007.01426.x. Epub 2007 Nov 19.

Abstract

Nocturnal hypermotor seizures (NHSs) suggest seizure onset in the frontal lobe. We present a patient with NHSs and insular seizure onset who underwent successful surgical treatment. A 29-year-old right-handed man suffered from intractable NHSs since the age of 12 years. High-resolution MRI, [(18)F]FDG-PET, and neuropsychological examination gave normal results, ictal EEG was obscured by artifacts. Ictal [(99m)Tc]HMPAO-SPECT revealed hyperperfusion in the right anterior part of the insula and right frontal operculum. The seizure onset zone was localized in the right anterior insula based on invasive recordings. Electrical stimulation in that area elicited habitual seizures. A limited resection of the anterior part of the right insula and the right frontal operculum was performed rendering the patient seizure-free (follow-up 1 year). To our knowledge, this is the first reported nonlesional patient with an insular seizure onset and NHSs who underwent successful epilepsy surgery.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging
  • Cerebral Cortex / surgery*
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Electrodes, Implanted
  • Electroencephalography / statistics & numerical data
  • Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / diagnosis
  • Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
  • Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / surgery*
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
  • Functional Laterality / physiology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Neurosurgical Procedures
  • Seizures / diagnosis
  • Seizures / diagnostic imaging
  • Seizures / surgery*
  • Sleep Wake Disorders / diagnosis
  • Sleep Wake Disorders / diagnostic imaging
  • Sleep Wake Disorders / surgery*
  • Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / statistics & numerical data
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime