Abstract
Simple SummaryThrough epilepsy is one of the leading causes of poor mental health, increased school dropout, and socioeconomic burden, yet the diagnosis remains a challenging concern especially in developing countries. There has been a significant advancement in the diagnosis of different epileptic conditions. Therefore, the present work is focused on analyzing the technological advancement and scope of microRNA in the development of effective diagnostic tools and developing effective clinical management of epilepsy.Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, characterized by recurrent seizures, resulting from abnormally synchronized episodic neuronal discharges. Around 70 million people worldwide are suffering from epilepsy. The available antiepileptic medications are capable of controlling seizures in around 60–70% of patients, while the rest remain refractory. Poor seizure control is often associated with neuro-psychiatric comorbidities, mainly including memory impairment, depression, psychosis, neurodegeneration, motor impairment, neuroendocrine dysfunction, etc., resulting in poor prognosis. Effective treatment relies on early and correct detection of epileptic foci. Although there are currently a few well-established diagnostic techniques for epilepsy, they lack accuracy and cannot be applied to patients who are unsupportive or harbor metallic implants. Since a single test result from one of these techniques does not provide complete information about the epileptic foci, it is necessary to develop novel diagnostic tools. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current diagnostic tools of epilepsy, including electroencephalography (EEG) as well as structural and functional neuroimaging. We further discuss recent trends and advances in the diagnosis of epilepsy that will enable more effective diagnosis and clinical management of patients.
Highlights
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, characterized by the tendency of recurrent seizures, which may take a variety of forms and result in abnormally synchronized neuronal discharges
There are a lot of recent developments in the diagnosis of epilepsy, including various developments of Positron Emission Tomography (PET), high-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (HRMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and the development of various data analytical techniques
Another study using the combination of MRI and Quantitative PET (Q-PET) analysis revealed the hypometabolic regions in the brain of patients with non-lesioned extratemporal lobe epilepsy (ETLE) and mapped the hypermetabolic areas
Summary
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, characterized by the tendency of recurrent seizures, which may take a variety of forms and result in abnormally synchronized neuronal discharges. Traditional diagnostic methods include electroencephalography (EEG), structural and functional neuroimaging (CT scan, MRI, PET, SPECT, etc.), and blood tests for the detection of the abnormal electrical activity of the brain or the potential identification of specific serum biomarkers. These methods are very helpful in detecting abnormal electrical discharges in the brain or identifying potential causes of epilepsy, they might lead to false positive or false negative results [7]. We summarize diverse approaches to the diagnosis of epilepsy and discuss recent advances in this field, which may facilitate prompt and accurate diagnosis, leading to a more effective clinical management
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