The diagnosis of epilepsy requires a detailed description of any past seizures. Not only is the information from the patient important, but details of the history from a reliable person who has witnessed the seizures can also be invaluable in the diagnosis of epilepsy. For this reason, it is often very helpful to bring a person who has observed (witnessed) the seizures to the visit with the physician while trying to diagnose and test for epilepsy.
Details of the past history of seizures, or history of potential epilepsy risk factors (such as a history of seizures associated with fever during childhood, head trauma, brain infections, family history of seizures, birth injuries or birth defects, impairment of attaining normal development of language motor or social skill during childhood) is often sought during the history taking and will help physicians in future epilepsy treatment.
The Epilepsy Center is now using the most advanced non-invasive diagnostic test, magnetoencephalography (MEG), to record and analyze the brain’s functioning by measuring the magnetic fields produced by electrical activity in the brain. A painless, non-invasive procedure that uses no injections, radioactivity or strong magnetic fields, MEG is safe for both children and adults.
