High frequency oscillations and seizure frequency in patients with focal epilepsy

SummaryHigh frequency oscillations (HFOs) have been associated with epileptogenicity. In rats, the extent of HFOs (>200 Hz) is correlated with seizure frequency. We studied whether the same applies to patients with focal epilepsy. Thirty-nine patients with intracerebral EEG sampled at 2000 Hz were studied for interictal ripples (80–250 Hz), fast ripples (FR, 250–500 Hz) and spikes. Seizure frequency before implantation was compared to numbers of channels with HFOs (>1/min). Analyses were repeated for HFO rates of >5, >10 and >20. Separate analyses were done for 25 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy only and for a selection of similar unilateral temporal channels in 12 patients. No linear correlation or trend was found relating the number of channels with HFOs and seizure frequency. There was a linear positive correlation between the number of channels with more than 20 FRs/min and seizure frequency. The hypothesis that the more tissue generating HFOs, the higher the seizure frequency, was not confirmed, though there might be a correlation for high FR rates.