ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: To determine the lateralization of lesion by non-invasive methods through correlation of cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) findings in patients with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). METHODS: This study included 40 patients (Age range, 19 to 55 years) among 1850 patients who were attending outpatient epilepsy clinic of Haydarpasa Numune Hospital between the years 2000 and 2013. Exclusion criteria were surgery due to MTS, metabolic and systemic disorders, indefinite diagnosis, and inadequate MRI and EEG evaluations. RESULTS: EEG findings were within normal limits in 10 (25%) patients who had MTS on MRI. Of these, 5 patients had right MTS, 4 had left MTS, and one patient had bilateral MTS. CONCLUSION: In this study, we used electrophysiological diagnostic methods together with MR imaging to determine epileptogenic localization in patients with MTS. We suggest that, when correlated with MRI, EEG is a non-invasive and easy method to identify lateralization findings.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to evaluate the frequency of left atrial dilatation in cases of first-ever acute ischemic stroke with or without atrial fibrillation in a cohort of patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke. METHODS: Files of 120 patients admitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke were investigated. All patients had at least one brain imaging. Etiology of stroke was categorized according to Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) classification. Transthoracic and/or transoesophageal echocardiography was used to measure left atrium size. Optimal cut-off value of left atrial diameter was determined as 4 cm. SPSS 11.5 was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: In 40% of the patients, left atrial dilatation was detected. Nineteen patients with left atrial dilatation had atrial fibrillation, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Ninety-four (30.8%) patients with no atrial fibrillation had left atrial dilatation. In the TOAST classification trial, as a statistically significant finding, left atrial dilatation was detected 68.9% of the patients with cardioembolic infarcts. The most frequently encountered risk factor in patients was hypertension. CONCLUSION: Left atrial dilatation is an important marker for cerebrovascular diseases, and if accompanied by atrial fibrillation becomes even more significant.
