Events

PAIRED PULSE TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION (TMS) IN HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS AND EPILEPSY PATIENTS

Abstract

Epilepsy is characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures, due to an increased cortical excitability (CE). Although the routine electroencephalogram (EEG) can assist in identifying increased CE, its sensitivity is limited (30-55%). This creates the need for a better diagnostic tool. Once the diagnosis of epilepsy is confirmed, in most patients anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are prescribed. However, there is actually no method to evaluate the efficacy of medication. As transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) provides the opportunity to assess cortical excitability, we will investigate whether this technique can be used to improve the diagnostic process in epilepsy and to evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed AEDs. I will shortly describe the design and set-up of both clinical studies. Furthermore, I will shows results of paired pulse TMS measurements in seven healthy participants, where TMS is combined with 64-channel full band EEG and electromyography (EMG) of the abductor pollicis brevis.


Wednesday 18 March 2015, 16:30 - 17:30 h

Building Carré - room CR 3.718