Role of MRI in evaluation of seizures

Introduction: Assessment of the patient presenting with seizure disorder is a common problem in clinical practice. MR imaging plays a pivotal role in the evaluation of patients with seizures. Accurate diagnosis of the cause of seizure is crucial for finding an effective treatment. Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted on 110 patients who presented with clinical impression of seizures from August 2013 to August 2015 who were subjected to MRI scanning. This study was carried out in 110 patients with clinical presentation of seizures by subjecting them to magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate the spectrum of findings, various etiologic factors for seizures, and the most common imaging abnormality. Depending on the radiological features a provisional diagnosis was made correlating the clinical features. Results: In our study, 110 patients who were clinically diagnosed of seizure disorder were undergone MRI examination of the brain. In our study, cerebral infarct 20%, NCC 7.27%, atrophy 5.45%, cortical malformation 3.64%, tuberculoma 3.64%, venous thrombosis 3.64% constitute the main etiological factors other being neoplasm, tuberous sclerosis, SWS and abscess. The most common abnormality was cerebral chronic infarct. The MRI findings were normal in 53 (48.1%) cases and revealed spectrum of abnormalities in 57 (51.9%) cases. The common abnormalities were cerebral infarction with gliosis (20%), infections – NCC (7.2%) and tuberculoma (3.6%), cerebral atrophy (5.45%), developmental cortical malformations (3.6%), venous thrombosis (3.6%), tuberous sclerosis (1.82%), developmental vascular malformations (1.82%), low grade glioma (1.82%), SWS (0.91%), meningioma (0.91%), cerebral abscess (0.91%) were among the abnormal findings. Conclusion: This study observed that MRI with appropriate imaging protocols adds sensitivity and specificity in evaluation of seizures.