Research questions - Los Angeles Filmmaker

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Hello. My name is Jay Holben, I'm a filmmaker in Los Angeles working on a screenplay and I have some questions on Epilepsy if there are any medical professionals willing to help, I thought this might be the place to find them. Is it possible for diagnostic testing for a person suspected to be suffering from epilepsy to take place while the patient is heavily sedated? Can EEG, CT, MRI, PET, etc be performed with a sedated patient? I know there are mobile MRI units - trucks that can move to locations for scanning - does this also apply to EEG, CT, PET, etc? How long would it take for a patient to undergo the full range of diagnostic testing? In the screenplay I am working on, I have a character who is suffering from extreme agoraphobia and her psychiatrist believes she may also be suffering from epileptic seizures. The challenge here is how to diagnose a patient who cannot physically leave their home? How common are auditory and visual hallucinations during epileptic seizures? Is it possible for a patient to not have any significant presentation of symptoms for 20-30 years of their life? Any help in these areas would be greatly appreciated. I can also be contacted directly via e-mail at LAFilmmaker@adakin.com Many thanks, Jay Holben Los Angeles, CA

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Re: Research questions - Los Angeles Filmmaker

Submitted by alias3rn on Mon, 2007-03-05 - 21:53

Hi Jay. I'm an epilepsy nurse at a children's hospital. I will try to answer your questions. 1. Sedation tests: We sedate our kids for MRI's, PET scans, and CT scans. It is possible to sedate for an EEG, but results are not as accurate. Sedatives tend to calm and slow down the brain, so if any activity was going on, it would be suppressed. Of course, if the brain is seizing enough, it can still be seen during a sedated EEG. 2. Mobile tests: I'm not sure about a mobile CT or PET scans. An EEG can be done as an "ambulatory" but normally needs set up with specific computer equipment. It's possible that if a tech were to go into someone's house with a computer who's hard drive has the information needed to upload the information needed to do an EEG. So yes, a mobile EEG is probable. 3. The testing time would depend on sedation. I know our kids only get sedated once every 24 hours and only get one sedation test a day. Adults could probably be sedated once and moved from test to test. Sedation would have to be done supervised by a medical professional and most likely would need appropriate monitoring if needles were involved in sedation. If it were a pill to sedate, then anyone can watch the patient. It's possible that all could be done in one day. Of course, if sedation was required, I would do the EEG first. 4. Diagnosis: I would think accurate diagnosis would be difficult without these tests. Maybe you could have your agoraphobic be sedated with medically supervised personnel. Then taken out of the home to have the tests done. While she is knocked out, the EEG wires can be placed and an "ambulatory EEG" can be started. Someone can always go the next day to the house to remove the wires and equipment to take back the their facility to check it out. 5. Hallucinations: I had a kid once who saw butterflies as an aura. Sensory hallucinations are possible. I don't know how common they are, but they can definately be present before and/or during a seizure. 6. Anyone at anytime can develope seizures. Sometimes, it's due to a head injury or something like that. I know some adults who was first diagnosed at age's of 30 and 40. 7.

Re: Re: Research questions - Los Angeles Filmmaker

Submitted by LAFilmmaker on Tue, 2007-03-06 - 00:22

That was extraordinary information, I appreciate that very much. All the best, Jay Holben