Conventional EEG in the differential diagnosis of dementia syndromes
Striano, S.; Meo, R.; Bilo, L.
Acta Neurologica 10(2): 98-107
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-6276 PMID: 3394560 Document Number: 306279
Electroencephalographic changes in normal aging and in dementia syndromes have been carefully investigated in the last thirty years. More recently, the introduction of computerized techniques such as Spectral Analysis and Brain Mapping has led to a more precise evaluation of normal and abnormal findings and of their longitudinal changes. Careful investigations have also been carried out on sleep patterns and on evoked potentials, expecially CNV and P300. Nevertheless, routine EEG is still today the first.sbd.and often the only possible.sbd.neurophysiological investigation performed in most laboratories. We believe that the EEG can still be considered a useful and reliable tool, together with clinical, neuropsychological and tomographic data, in the differential diagnosis of the dementia syndromes. In this report, the Authors describe the results of an EEG study performed in 74 patients with a dementing process, 42 affected by Dementia Alzheimer Type (DAT) and 32 by Multi-Infarct Dementia (MID). In the DAT group the EEG is characterized by the frequent occurrence of a very slowed background activity and of bursts of high-voltage, bisynchronous delta, more prominent in the frontal areas (IRDA). In the MID group, background activity is frequently normal or only slightly slowed, IRDA is extremely rare, and focal abnormalities are frequently found, more often on the right side.