A Case of Hypermotor Seizures in Posterior Insular Cortex Epilepsy

Abstract

Insular seizure is a rare entity. Insular spikes spread to the temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes and clinically manifest with seizure semiology specific to these areas. We report the case of a 19-year-old male patient who presented with complaints of left-sided hemimotor tonic-clonic focal seizures of the limbs occurring three times per day. Neuroimaging showed cortical-subcortical right posterior insular cortex hyperintensities on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequence and T2-weighted MRI with no significant diffusion restriction on apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and no post-contrast enhancement, suggesting focal cortical dysplasia of right posterior insular cortex. Electroencephalogram (EEG) showed right frontal epileptiform activity with secondary bilateral synchrony. The patient's atypical hemimotor tonic-clonic focal seizure, the conventional video EEG showing right frontal spikes synchronizing with bilateral temporal ictal spikes, and insular cortical dysplasia on MRI led us to a diagnosis of insular epilepsy.