CLINICAL LATERALIZING SIGNS IN SYMPTOMATIC TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY

Abstract

Abstract: the article presents a review of world literature on significance of various clinical lateralizing signs in temporal lobe epilepsy, such as dystonic posturing, limb automatisms, ictal and postictal aphasia, ictal nystagmus, head turning, periiktal headache, etc. The results of current research are compared with previously published reports. The ictal dystonic unilateral limb posturing (possibly isolated in a hand, foot, predominantly in distal parts of limbs) is still one of the most informative lateralizing signs and it is lateralized in contralateral hemisphere in 100% of cases. It is shown that the “early” and “late” head turning, and unilateral limb automatisms are the most important and convincing lateralizing signs, which must be considered in connection with the EEG data to determine the epileptogenic focus in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Keywords

• epilepsy
• temporal lobe epilepsy
• lateralization
• video-eeg monitoring
• eeg
• seizure semiology
• partial seizures