October 2, 2019

New ‘Rogue Waves’ Test Pinpoints Epilepsy Seizure Brain Zones

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Analyzing ‘rogue brainwaves’ in people with epilepsy could help doctors better treat patients needing brain surgery.

A new test, developed by a team of scientists and doctors from the Aston Brain Centre and Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies at Aston University in Birmingham has allowed doctors to accurately identify in advance which exact part of the brain, known as an epileptogenic zone, will trigger an epileptic seizure.

Researchers examined brain activity readouts known as magnetoencephalograms (MEG) in three patients with drug-resistant epilepsy awaiting brain surgery.

They applied the “Hurst Exponent,” a method originally developed in hydrology and water engineering, which uses complex mathematics to predict apparently random natural events such as ‘rogue’ ocean waves.

The Aston researchers used the technique to identify abnormal electrical discharges or ‘spikes’ in the brains of patients with epilepsy, giving a more accurate picture of the area of the brain from which the seizure originated.

By cross-referencing the data with doctors at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, they accurately identified the regions of the brain which doctors agree are the most important in triggering seizures.

Researchers examined brain activity readouts known as magnetoencephalograms (MEG) in three patients with drug-resistant epilepsy awaiting brain surgery.

In two of the three patients tested, the Hurst Exponent results tallied with the existing knowledge of the spikes shown in the MEG data, providing valuable corroboration. However, in the third patient the new analysis helped to spot warning signs of seizure when traditional testing of ‘spikes’ failed to detect them.

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