Journal of clinical neurophysiology : official publication of the American Electroencephalographic Society
-
Know what is not epilepsy. An electroencephalographer can do much more damage by overinterpreting than by underinterpreting an EEG tracing. Epilepsy is a clinical, not an EEG, diagnosis, but the EEG, when used appropriately, can greatly aid the diagnostic process. ⋯ Postictal slowing must be differentiated from progressive or drug induced changes. The best candidates for resective surgical therapy are otherwise healthy young adults with medically intractable partial complex seizures, no psychosis, and unilateral or bilaterally independent interictal anterior temporal EEG spike foci. Patients with multifocal or bilaterally synchronous interictal EEG spikes combined with mental retardation are less likely to benefit from resective surgery, although they may be helped by corpus callosum section.