Nonconvulsive status epilepticus associated with Alzheimer's disease mimicking symptomatic focal epilepsy following the resection of a frontal parasagittal meningioma.

BACKGROUND

Epilepsies are frequent in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, epilepsies in AD can easily go unrecognized because they usually present as focal impaired awareness seizures or nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) and can overlap with other symptoms of AD.

CASE DESCRIPTION: We performed an epilepsy surgery in a 69-year-old woman with progressive cognitive impairment and consciousness disorder, who was diagnosed with focal NCSE related to the resected meningioma in the right frontal parasagittal region. Intraoperative electrocorticography revealed localized periodic paroxysmal discharges with beta and gamma activities in the neighboring cortex where the meningioma existed. The histopathological diagnosis of AD was first made from the resected epileptogenic cortex.

CONCLUSION

Even when there is a suspected epileptogenic lesion that could cause focal NCSE, AD should be ruled out in elderly patients with progressive cognitive decline.