The Contribution of Magnetic Resonance Imaging to the Diagnosis of Epilepsy

Epilepsy, a central nervous system disorder causing recurrent unprovoked seizures, remains a severe medical problem with a profound social impact on quality of life. The prevalence in population is 0.5-1%. Epilepsy is associated with various brain lesions such as developmental and metabolic disorders, some tumours, vascular malformations, postinfectious and postoperative changes or traumatic brain injury. Epilepsy can also develop as a result of prenatal, perinatal or early postnatal insults to the brain. The aim of diagnostic imaging is to identify underlying pathologies and to determine etiology of epilepsy. Identification of the epileptogenic focus is important especially for patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy who could benefit from surgical treatment.