Scalp HFO rates are higher for larger lesions.

High-frequency oscillations (HFO) in scalp EEG are a new and promising noninvasive epilepsy biomarker, providing added prognostic value, particularly in pediatric lesional epilepsy. However, it is unclear if lesion characteristics, such as lesion volume, depth, type, and localization, impact scalp HFO rates. We analyzed scalp EEG from 13 children and adolescents with focal epilepsy associated with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), low-grade tumors, or hippocampal sclerosis. We applied a validated automated detector to determine HFO rates in bipolar channels. We identified the lesion characteristics in MRI. Larger lesions defined by MRI volumetric analysis corresponded to higher cumulative scalp HFO rates (P = .01) that were detectable in a higher number of channels (P = .05). Both superficial and deep lesions generated HFO detectable in the scalp EEG. Lesion type (FCD vs tumor) and lobar localization (temporal vs extratemporal) did not affect scalp HFO rates in our study. Our observations support that all lesions may generate HFO detectable in scalp EEG, irrespective of their characteristics, whereas larger epileptogenic lesions generate higher scalp HFO rates over larger areas that are thus more accessible to detection. Our study provides crucial insight into scalp HFO detectability in pediatric lesional epilepsy, facilitating their implementation as an epilepsy biomarker in a clinical setting.

Scalp HFO rates decrease after successful epilepsy surgery and are not impacted by the skull defect resulting from craniotomy.

Epilepsy surgery can achieve seizure freedom in selected pediatric candidates, but reliable postsurgical predictors of seizure freedom are missing. High frequency oscillations (HFO) in scalp EEG are a new and promising biomarker of treatment response. However, it is unclear if the skull defect resulting from craniotomy interferes with HFO detection in postsurgical recordings. We considered 14 children with focal lesional epilepsy who underwent presurgical evaluation, epilepsy surgery, and postsurgical follow-up of ≥ 1 year. We identified the nearest EEG electrodes to the skull defect in the postsurgical MRI. We applied a previously validated automated HFO detector to determine HFO rates in presurgical and postsurgical EEG. Overall, HFO rates showed a positive correlation with seizure frequency (p < 0.001). HFO rates in channels over the HFO area decreased following successful epilepsy surgery, irrespective of their proximity to the skull defect (p = 0.005). HFO rates in channels outside the HFO area but near the skull defect showed no increase following surgery (p = 0.091) and did not differ from their contralateral channels (p = 0.726). Our observations show that the skull defect does not interfere with postsurgical HFO detection. This supports the notion that scalp HFO can predict postsurgical seizure freedom and thus guide therapy management in focal lesional epilepsy.