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Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is widely recognized as one of the most effective treatments for various psychiatric disorders and is generally considered safe. However, a few reports have mentioned that multiple ECT sessions could induce electroencephalography (EEG) abnormalities and epileptic seizures, a serious side effect of ECT. We experienced a case with EEG abnormalities after multiple ECT sessions and aimed to share our insights on conducting ECT safely. Case Presentation: We present the case of a 73-year-old female diagnosed with major depressive disorder. She underwent regular ECT sessions to alleviate her psychiatric symptoms. However, after more than 80 sessions, previously undetected EEG abnormalities were observed. Since the patient did not have clinical seizures, we were able to continue ECT at longer intervals without the use of antiepileptic drugs. Conclusion: Our case suggests the importance of routine EEG testing in patients undergoing prolonged ECT. While careful monitoring is necessary, continuing ECT without antiepileptic medication in patients with EEG abnormalities could be permissible.
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Late-onset epilepsy, particularly focal impaired awareness seizures, often present without convulsions and can cause memory impairment. This can lead patients to initially seek consultation at memory clinics, potentially delaying referral to epilepsy specialists. We report on three patients, aged 40s to 70s, admitted for cognitive evaluation who were finally diagnosed with epileptic seizures as the underlying cause of their symptoms. Notably, all initially presented to local clinics with symptoms suggesting cognitive impairment. Despite initial diagnostic uncertainty, all patients exhibited epileptic activity on electroencephalography (EEG) and responded positively to antiepileptic drugs, suggesting epileptic mechanisms were involved in their symptoms. Both traditional clinical EEG systems and newly developed, one-minute portable EEG devices were used in their evaluations. The portable device, medically approved in Japan, successfully captured sharp-waves like activities with the same durations, amplitudes, and shapes as traditional devices. This highlights its potential to improve epilepsy diagnosis and future screening due to its portability and ease of use. Implementing portable EEG devices could promote timely and appropriate treatment, preventing misdiagnosis of neurological conditions.
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Background: The current biomarker-supported diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is hindered by invasiveness and cost issues. This study aimed to address these challenges by utilizing portable electroencephalography (EEG). We propose a novel, non-invasive, and cost-effective method for identifying AD, using a sample of patients with biomarker-verified AD, to facilitate early and accessible disease screening. Methods: This study included 35 patients with biomarker-verified AD, confirmed via cerebrospinal fluid sampling, and 35 age- and sex-balanced healthy volunteers (HVs). All participants underwent portable EEG recordings, focusing on 2-minute resting-state EEG epochs with closed eyes state. EEG recordings were transformed into scalogram images, which were analyzed using "vision Transformer(ViT)," a cutting-edge deep learning model, to differentiate patients from HVs. Results: The application of ViT to the scalogram images derived from portable EEG data demonstrated a significant capability to distinguish between patients with biomarker-verified AD and HVs. The method achieved an accuracy of 73%, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80, indicating robust performance in identifying AD pathology using neurophysiological measures. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the potential of portable EEG combined with advanced deep learning techniques as a transformative tool for screening of biomarker-verified AD. This study not only contributes to the neurophysiological understanding of AD but also opens new avenues for the development of accessible and non-invasive diagnostic methods. The proposed approach paves the way for future clinical applications, offering a promising solution to the limitations of advanced diagnostic practices for dementia.