What are wicket spikes

Wicket spikes (WS) are a benign eletroencephalogram (EEG) variant, seen mainly in adults, during somnolence, in the temporal regions, in many clinical situations. WS can appear in trains or isolatedly, sometimes being difficult to differentiate from epileptiform activity.

Where are wicket spikes?

Wicket spikes or wicket rhythms are medium to high voltage, monophasic wave bursts in the range of theta or alpha range (6-11Hz). Wicket spikes occur in the anterior or middle temporal areas with a negative polarity, which usually evolves from the background as arcuate-shaped, brief (0.5-1 second) rhythmic discharges.

What is an EEG and what does it measure?

An EEG is a test that detects abnormalities in your brain waves, or in the electrical activity of your brain. During the procedure, electrodes consisting of small metal discs with thin wires are pasted onto your scalp. The electrodes detect tiny electrical charges that result from the activity of your brain cells.

What causes Pleds?

PLEDS are caused by acute destructive focal lesions and are a transitory phenomenon: they tend to disappear in weeks, even if the causal lesion persists. Over time, the record takes on a less specific focal slow appearance, which is more likely to persist.

What is a phantom spike-and-wave?

Phantom spike-and-wave bursts or 6Hz spike-and-wave bursts consist of brief bursts of spikes of very low amplitude with a repetition range of 5 to 7Hz. This pattern usually occurs bilaterally and synchronously during relaxed wakefulness, drowsiness or light sleep. Bursts disappear during deeper levels of sleep.

How do you differentiate a wicket spike from epileptiform spikes?

Wicket waves are single waveforms that occur in brief trains or clusters. In distinction to true epileptiform spikes, however, wicket waves have a more arciform appearance and earn their name therefore by looking like “wicket” (see Figure 48).

What does a spike on an EEG mean?

Spikes or sharp waves are terms commonly seen in EEG reports. If these happen only once in a while or at certain times of day, they may not mean anything. If they happen frequently or are found in specific areas of the brain, it could mean there is potentially an area of seizure activity nearby.

What do PLEDs mean?

PLEDs is an acronym which stands for periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges. What it means when translated is that the brain is experiencing abnormal electrical activity on one side. This electrical activity is picked up on the electroencephalogram (EEG), a standard diagnostic study to assess brain function.

What is LGS syndrome?

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a type of epilepsy. Patients with LGS experience many different types of seizures including: Tonic – stiffening of the body. Atonic – temporary loss of muscle tone and consciousness, causing the patient to fall.

Are GPEDs seizures?

The overall prevalence of clinical seizures in patients at the time of EEG recording or during the hospitalization was 59%. Seizures were detected in 70% of patients with PLEDs, 43% of patients with BIPLEDs, and 29.4% of patients with GPEDs.

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Can EEG detect brain tumor?

EEG can also detect abnormal brain waves after a head injury, stroke, or brain tumor. Other conditions such as dizziness, headache, dementia, and sleeping problems may show abnormal brain patterns. It can also be used to confirm brain death.

Can an EEG show brain damage?

An EEG can determine changes in brain activity that might be useful in diagnosing brain disorders, especially epilepsy or another seizure disorder. An EEG might also be helpful for diagnosing or treating the following disorders: Brain tumor. Brain damage from head injury.

Can EEG detect anxiety?

EEG identifies brain signal that correlates with depression and anxiety.

What is hypnagogic Hypersynchrony?

Hypnagogic hypersynchrony is a normal physiologic variant of medium to high amplitude synchronous rhythmic theta frequencies seen in light NREM sleep. NREM: non-rapid eye movement.

What is ciganek rhythm?

Answer. Midline theta rhythm (ie, Ciganek rhythm) may be observed during wakefulness or drowsiness. The frequency is 4-7 Hz, and the location is midline (ie, vertex). The morphology is rhythmic, smooth, sinusoidal, arciform, spiky, or mu-like.

What is BECT epilepsy?

Benign epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes (BECTS) is the most common type of focal epilepsy in children; it is age-dependent and presumably genetic. Traditionally, children with BECTS have a very good prognosis, even without medical treatment, and are thought to show no neurological symptoms or cognitive deficits.

Is a Persyst spike a seizure?

The presence of spikes and sharp waves in EEG data strongly support a diagnosis of epilepsy or an elevated risk of seizures. Their morphologic characteristics and spatial distribution are key aspects for either localizing potential foci of seizure origin or in establishing a syndromic diagnosis.

What causes brain spikes?

Abnormal brain tissue, infection, injury, stroke, tumors or other conditions can also cause frontal lobe seizures.

What do seizure spikes look like on EEG?

Epileptic spikes characterized by horizontal dipoles are common and usually have maximal negativity in the centrotemporal area and positivity in the frontal area. The EEG discharges may be unilateral, bilateral, or have shifting laterality and often asynchronous between the hemispheres.

What is a normal variant in EEG?

The phrases “electroencephalogram (EEG) variant waves” or “normal EEG variants” refer to waves that are rare or unusual but not generally abnormal. They may be unusual in shape or in distribution. These variant waveforms include waveforms and patterns that are rare or unusual but are known to be generally benign.

What do K complexes do?

A K-complex is a waveform that may be seen on an electroencephalogram (EEG). … K-complexes have two proposed functions: first, suppressing cortical arousal in response to stimuli that the sleeping brain evaluates not to signal danger, and second, aiding sleep-based memory consolidation.

Can you have an abnormal EEG and not have seizures?

To complicate this further, some people have ‘abnormal’ EEGs but do not have epilepsy. Also, many people who do have epilepsy will only have ‘abnormal’ activity on the EEG if they have a seizure at the time the test is happening.

How do you treat LGS?

The three main forms of treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome are anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), dietary therapy (typically the ketogenic diet) or device/surgery (VNS therapy or corpus callosotomy). Rarely, resective surgery is an option. Treatment may require the coordinated efforts of a team of specialists.

What is the life expectancy of LGS?

The characteristic diffuse slow spike wave pattern of LGS gradually disappears with age and is replaced by focal epileptic discharges, especially multiple independent spikes. Mortality rate is reported at 3% (mean follow-up period of 8.5 y) to 7% (mean follow-up period of 9.7 y). Death often is related to accidents.

Can Lennox-Gastaut syndrome be cured?

There is no cure for the disorder. Complete recovery, including freedom from seizures and normal development, is very rare. The prognosis for individuals with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome varies. There is no cure for the disorder.

What is epileptiform discharge child?

Interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), meaning spikes, polyspikes, sharp waves, or spike and slow-wave complexes without observed clinical seizures, are commonly observed in children with epilepsy. Neuropsychological evidence indicates that childhood epilepsy often has negative effects on cognitive function [2].

Do you treat generalized periodic discharges?

Generalized periodic discharges that are associated with nonconvulsive status epilepticus are treated with antiseizure drugs, while others are not necessarily aggressively treated. Prognosis for most patients with GPDs is guarded, although this is also dependent on the underlying etiology.

What causes burst suppression?

Burst episodes are associated with excitatory activity in cortical neurons. Suppression is caused by the absence of synaptic activity of cortical neurons; however, some thalamocortical neurons exhibit oscillations in the delta frequency range during these periods.

What is focal epilepsy?

Focal epilepsy is a neurological condition in which the predominant symptom is recurring seizures that affect one hemisphere (half) of the brain.

What is abnormal focal epileptiform discharges?

Epileptiform abnormalities. Focal interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) are sharply contoured transients that are distinct from and usually interrupt background activities. IEDs are almost always of negative polarity at the scalp surface. IEDs usually occur sporadically.

What is burst suppression in epilepsy?

Answer. High-voltage bursts of slow, sharp, and spiking activity alternating with a suppressed background have been termed burst suppression (see image below). The duration of bursts or suppressed epochs is highly variable. Myoclonic jerking can occur concomitantly with the bursts and may be ictal.