Res Vestib Sci.  2023 Mar;22(1):7-13. 10.21790/rvs.2023.22.1.7.

Dizziness in Patients with Vestibular Epilepsy

• Lee W
• Kim JM

• KMID: 2540388
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21790/rvs.2023.22.1.7

Abstract

Objectives
Vestibular epilepsy refers to epilepsy in which vertigo is the sole or main symptom of a seizure. However, epilepsy is rarely considered as a differential diagnosis in patients complaining of dizziness. Here, we reviewed ten cases of vestibular epilepsy and analyzed the dizziness complained by the patient.
Methods
In this study, the medical records of dizziness patients with epileptic discharges observed on electroencephalogram were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who had other obvious causes of dizziness, lacked a description of dizziness, or were not taking antiseizure medications were excluded. We finally recruited 10 patients, and investigated their dizziness characteristic, brain imaging tests, electroencephalograms, and blood test findings.
Results
Patients with vestibular epilepsy usually felt dizzy abruptly while not moving, and often complained of dizziness in the form of spinning around or becoming dazed. Dizziness was short, usually between a few seconds and a few minutes, and the frequency of occurrence was variable, so there was no consistent trend. There were no abnormal findings in blood tests. In brain imaging test, most patients did not show significant abnormalities. The electroencephalographic abnormalities of the patients were mainly observed in the temporal lobe, and the dizziness they complained of improved when they started taking antiseizure medications.
Conclusions
If a patient with dizziness complains of dizziness that occurs suddenly and lasts for a short time, early electroencephalogram should be considered to prevent the diagnosis of epilepsy from being overlooked or delayed.

Keyword

Vestibular epilepsy; Epileptic vertigo; Dizziness; 전정뇌전증; 뇌전증현기증; 어지럼