All that glitters: Contribution of stereo-EEG in patients with lesional epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the contribution of stereo-EEG for localization purpose in patients with a visible lesion on MRI.

BACKGROUND

Intracranial EEG is often used to localize the epileptogenic focus in patients with non-lesional focal epilepsy. Its role in cases where a lesion is visible on MRI can be even more complex and the relationship between the lesion and the seizure onset has rarely been addressed.

METHODS

All consecutive patients between February 2013 and May 2018 who underwent stereo-EEG and had a lesion visible on MRI were included. We assessed the localization of the seizure onset and its relationship with the lesion. Clinical, radiological, and electrographic analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Stereo-EEG revealed a seizure onset with either partial or no overlap with the lesion seen on MRI in 42 (56 %) of the 75 lesions included. Mesial temporal sclerosis was the only lesion type associated with an exclusively lesional seizure onset (p = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

Epilepsy surgery in MRI-positive cases should rely not only the results of lesions seen on MRI, which might be potentially misleading; SEEG is a gold standard method in these cases to define resective borders.