Characteristics of an adult photosensitive cohort

Intermittent photic stimulation (ips) is a well recognized provocation maneuver during eeg recording which helps in identifying underlying photosensitivity. the frequency and characteristics of various responses to photosensitivity among our adult patients was determine.eegs of subjects > 15 years from 2003-2006, were reviewed.two main photosensitive responses were observed: photoparoxysmal (ppr) and photic-driving response (pdr).demographic and clinical data was also collected. out of 5950 eeg's performed, response to ips were detected in 1.2% (n=73) of eegs. out of which 49 (67%) had pdr and 24 (33%) had ppr. mean age of ppr group was 25.7 ± 12 years with equal gender distribution. in ppr subjects, epilepsy was the final eeg conclusion in majority of patients 96% (n=23) p-value < 0.001. primary generalized epilepsy being the most common 52% (n=12). in contrast, pdr observed in normal eeg's was 45% (n=22). this study revealed low frequency 1.2% of photosensitive responses.ppr is seen frequently in patients with epilepsy (96%, pvalue<0.001), and highest rate (52%) of photosensitivity was observed in patients with primary generalized epilepsy.