Occipital lobe seizures related to clinically asymptomatic celiac disease in adulthood
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Luisa Antonini; C. Alberto Tassinari; Giovanni Ambrosetto
- Source
- Epilepsia. 33(3)
- Subject
- Adult
Male
Pathology
medicine.medical_specialty
Malabsorption
Adolescent
Biopsy
Electroencephalography
Asymptomatic
Gastroenterology
Coeliac disease
Epilepsy
Seizures
Internal medicine
Medicine
Humans
Ictal
Brain Diseases
medicine.diagnostic_test
business.industry
Calcinosis
medicine.disease
Celiac Disease
Jejunum
Neurology
Etiology
Female
Neurology (clinical)
Occipital Lobe
medicine.symptom
business
Occipital lobe
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
- Language
- ISSN
- 0013-9580
Summary: We report the electroclinical ictal findings of four epileptic patients with clinically asymptomatic celiac disease (CD). Celiac disease diagnosis was suspected by past history and/or computed tomography (CT) findings in all patients and confirmed by laboratory tests and jejunal biopsy. All patients had paroxysmal visual manifestations and ictal EEG discharges arising from the occipital lobe. Epilepsy evolution was favorable in two patients and severe in 2, regardless of CT evidence of occipital corticosubcortical calcifications in 2 patients. Occipital lobe seizures may be characteristic of the epilepsy related to CD, and epileptic patients with these seizures of unknown etiology should be carefully investigated for malabsorption. If past history and/or laboratory tests suggest gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction they should also undergo small intestinal biopsy even if they do not have GI tract symptoms.