Patterns of cortical hyperexcitability in adolescent/adult-onset generalized epilepsies

Abstract

Purpose To investigate whether using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to derive if measures of cortical excitability changes can distinguish between various adolescent/adult-onset generalized epilepsy syndromes at different phases of the disorder. Methods One hundred thirty-seven patients with adolescent/adult-onset generalized epilepsy divided into juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy, and generalized epilepsy with tonic-clonic seizures only were studied. The cohorts were further divided into drug naive-new onset, refractory, and seizure-free groups. Motor threshold (MT) and paired pulse TMS at short (2, 5, 10, 15 msec) and long (100-300 msec) interstimulus interval..