What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a condition in which the brain is more prone to having epileptic seizures. The seizures can look very different. Some people experience clear convulsions throughout the body, while others experience brief absence seizures, twitches, altered sensory experiences, or temporary loss of consciousness.
A single seizure does not always mean you have epilepsy. Seizures can sometimes be triggered by fever, lack of sleep, alcohol, medications, low blood sugar, infection, trauma, or other conditions.
Therefore, medical assessment is needed, especially in the event of a first seizure, a change in seizure pattern, injury in connection with a seizure, or if the seizures occur without a clear explanation.
When can a brain MRI be useful in epilepsy?
Brain MRI may be considered as part of an epilepsy investigation when doctors want to assess whether there are structural changes in the brain that may contribute to seizures. This may be, for example, after a first unprovoked seizure, in the case of focal seizures, or when other findings make imaging relevant.
Epilepsy evaluation may also include EEG, blood tests, neurological assessment, and medication review. MRI is an important part of some evaluations but does not replace other tests.
At Prevcare you can book a private brain MRI without a referral as a planned examination. In the event of new or acute seizures, healthcare should be contacted first.
What can MRI show in epilepsy?
MRI can show structural changes that are sometimes relevant to epilepsy or seizures. These may include scar changes, congenital variations, suspicious tumor findings, vascular changes, or other abnormalities that need to be assessed.
Many people with epilepsy do not have any obvious changes on MRI. A normal MRI response does not rule out epilepsy. The diagnosis is based on seizure description, EEG, medical history and specialist assessment.
If MRI shows a finding, it needs to be linked to the type of seizure and other examination results.
- May show some structural changes in the brain.
- Normal MRI response does not rule out epilepsy.
- EEG and neurological assessment may be needed.
- The first seizure should be assessed medically.
- Radiological report and specialist review included.
When seizures require emergency care
Seek emergency care if someone has their first seizure, if the seizure lasts a long time, if several seizures occur close together, if the person does not recover, if breathing is affected, if injury occurs, or if the seizure occurs during pregnancy.
Urgent assessment is also needed if seizures are accompanied by fever, severe headache, confusion, neck stiffness, neurological deficits or suspected stroke.
In the event of a first seizure, prolonged seizure, repeated seizures, injury, respiratory distress, or failure to recover, you should seek emergency care.
Price and booking
For planned MRI brain, you can find current prices and bookings on the MRI brain page . The examination includes radiological examination, written report and review with a specialist.
If there are findings or symptoms that require further neurological assessment, Prevcare can help you with a referral after medical assessment.
Epilepsy often requires several parts of investigation
Because epilepsy is a functional disorder of the brain's electrical activity, it does not always show up as a clear structural change on MRI. Therefore, MRI often needs to be combined with EEG and specialist assessment.
If you want to examine the body more preventively, a whole-body MRI is a separate option, but in the event of seizures or suspected epilepsy, a brain MRI and neurological assessment are more relevant.
