Can Police Car Flashing-Light Induce Encephalographic Discharges and Seizures?
G. Vainstein, V. Yofe, N. Gadoth
Dept. of Neurology, Meir General Hospital, Sapir Medical Center, Kfar Saba
The new police car flashing-light device (930 Heliobe Lightbar) has recently been implicated as potentially epileptogenic. We exposed 30 epileptic patients, 30 nonepileptic patients who suffered from headache and 15 normal volunteers to this light source. All had routine EEGs with standard intermittent photic stimulation, followed by 3-minute stimulation with the Lightbar. In none were either seizures or EEG changes induced. In 1 epileptic spike-and-wave activity induced by standard photic stimulation was enhanced with the Lightbar.
We could not confirm that the Lightbar is epileptogenic.