Circling seizures in a case with Wilson's disease

Ictal body turning in focal epilepsy

Despite the explanations of many lateralization findings, body turning in focal epilepsy has been rarely investigated. One of the aims of this study was to evaluate the role of ictal body turning in the lateralization of focal epilepsies. The records of 263 patients with focal epilepsy (temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), n=178; extratemporal lobe epilepsy (ETLE), n=85) who underwent prolonged video-EEG monitoring during presurgical epilepsy evaluation were reviewed. Preoperative findings (TLE, n=16; ETLE, n=6) and postoperative outcomes (TLE, n=7) of patients with focal epilepsy with ictal body turning were assessed. For the evaluation of ictal body turning, two definitions were proposed. Nonversive body turning (NVBT) was used to denote at least a 90° nonforced (without tonic or clonic component) rotation of the upper (shoulder) and lower (hip) parts of the body around the body axis for a minimum of 3s. Versive body turning (VBT) was used to denote at least a 90° forced (with tonic or clonic component) rotation of the upper (shoulder) and lower (hip) parts of the body around the body axis for a minimum of 3s. Nonversive body turning was observed in 6% (n=11) of patients with TLE and 2% (n=2) of patients with ETLE. For VBT, these ratios were 5% (n=8) and 7% (n=6) for patients with TLE and ETLE, respectively. Nonversive body turning was frequently oriented to the same side as the epileptogenic zone (EZ) in TLE and ETLE seizures (76% and 80%, respectively). If the amount of NVBT was greater than 180°, then it was 80% to the same side in TLE seizures. Versive body turning was observed in 86% of the TLE seizures, and 55% of the ETLE seizures were found to be contralateral to the EZ. When present with head turning, NVBT ipsilateral to the EZ and VBT contralateral to the EZ were more valuable for lateralization. In TLE seizures, a significant correlation was found between the head turning and body turning onsets and durations. Our study demonstrated that ictal body turning is a rarely observed but reliable lateralization finding in TLE and ETLE seizures, which also probably has the same pathophysiological mechanism as head turning in TLE seizures.

Wilson's disease

In the almost 100 years since Wilson's description of the illness that now bears his name, tremendous advances have been made in our understanding of this disorder. The genetic basis for Wilson's disease - mutation within the ATP7B gene - has been identified. The pathophysiologic basis for the damage resulting from the inability to excrete copper via the biliary system with its consequent gradual accumulation, first in the liver and ultimately in the brain and other organs and tissues, is now known. This has led to the development of effective diagnostic and treatment modalities that, although they may not eliminate the disorder, do provide the means for efficient diagnosis and effective amelioration if carried out in a dedicated and persistent fashion. Nevertheless, Wilson's disease remains both a diagnostic and treatment challenge for physician and patient. Its protean clinical manifestations make diagnosis difficult. Appropriate diagnostic evaluations to confirm the diagnosis and institute treatment can be confusing. In this chapter, the clinical manifestations, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment approaches for Wilson's disease are discussed.

Wilson's disease and benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal (rolandic) spikes

Cases with a clinical and electroencephalographic phenotype of benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) in association with a proven organic brain lesion have rarely been reported. To our knowledge, we herein describe for the first time a patient with Wilson's disease who subsequently manifested BECTS. Our case bolsters the argument that in at least some cases, BECTS is associated with organic brain disease.

A case of 'circling seizures' and an intratumoral abscess

We describe a case of a 38-year-old woman who presented with 'circling' seizures and was found to have an intracranial mass with features consistent with a meningioma. Three weeks prior to her presentation she underwent an uncomplicated vaginal hysterectomy. However, after discharge to home she developed a 4-day history of fever, chills and night sweats that eventually resolved. She underwent surgical removal of her intracranial mass without difficulty but intra-operative pathology showed features of acute cerebritis at the margins of the tumor. Further sectioning of the mass revealed evidence of an intratumoral abscess. Culture of the meningioma revealed heavy growth of Bacteroides fragilis. The patient was treated with intravenous antibiotics, discharged home in excellent health and has had no recurrence of seizures. In our case report we will review the historical literature on the incidence and features of intratumoral abscess. Although it is considered a rare event, our case demonstrates both common and unique features about this occurrence and highlights an unusual chain of events in the natural history of the patient's meningioma and the way in which it became clinically apparent.