Short term Video EEG is a useful Diagnostic Procedure in Sub Acute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE)

Abstract

Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) is a progressive demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, associated with chronic infection of brain tissue with measles virus. Dykan criteria for definite diagnosis of SSPE includes a) clinical features of declining cognition and myoclonus b) periodic discharges on EEG c) increased cerebrospinal fluid globulin levels d) elevated titers of anti-measles antibody and e) brain biopsy. Short term video EEG is a non invasive procedure with simultaneous EEG and video recording.  EEG patterns in SSPE are characteristic and specific; which includes repetitive high amplitude paroxysmal polyphasic complexes with duration of 0.5-2 seconds and repetitive rate of 4-30 seconds. Short term video EEG is a useful diagnostic tool for confirming the diagnosis of SSPE. A simultaneous video recording will be helpful to documenting slow myoclonus and EEG correlation.