Temporal lobe epilepsy with or without hippocampal sclerosis: Structural and functional connectivity using advanced MRI techniques

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Ah Lee ◽  
Ho‐Joon Lee ◽  
Hyung Chan Kim ◽  
Kang Min Park
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamires Araujo Zanão ◽  
Tátila Martins Lopes ◽  
Brunno Machado de Campos ◽  
Mateus Henrique Nogueira ◽  
Clarissa Lin Yasuda ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTObjectiveto investigate abnormal functional connectivity in the resting-state default mode network (DMN) and its relation to memory impairments in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy with and without hippocampal sclerosis (HS)Methodwe enrolled 122 MTLE patients divided into right-HS (n=42), left-HS (n=49), MRI-negative MTLE (n=31) and controls (n=69). All underwent resting-state seed-based connectivity fMRI, with a seed placed at the posterior cingulate cortex, an essential node for the DMN. In addition, patients and 41 controls were tested for verbal and visual memory, estimated intelligence coefficient and delayed recall.ResultsBoth right-HS and MRI-negative group presented the poorest visual memory scores, and right-HS and left-HS had a worse performance in verbal memory compared to controls and MRI-negative groups. As expected, hippocampus was less connected than controls in all groups of patients. Although EEGs indicated that 64.5% of MRI-negative patients were lateralized to the left, this group showed activations similar to the right-HS.ConclusionOur data suggest that there is a disruption of the normal pattern of DMN in MTLE. Patients with left and right-HS presented similar, increased and decreased connectivity in the ipsilateral hemisphere; however, left-HS had abnormal decreased connectivity in the contralateral hemisphere. Per neuropsychological examination, the presence of HS in the left hemisphere had more impact on verbal memory, which was not found when the seizure focus is in the left hemisphere in the absence of HS. The absence of hippocampal atrophy seems to yield a less prominent disruption in both functional connectivity and neuropsychological performance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaotong Fan ◽  
Hao Yan ◽  
Yi Shan ◽  
Kun Shang ◽  
Xiaocui Wang ◽  
...  

Occurrence of language impairment in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) patients is common and left mTLE patients always exhibit a primary problem with access to names. To explore different neuropsychological profiles between left and right mTLE patients, the study investigated both structural and effective functional connectivity changes within the semantic cognition network between these two groups and those from normal controls. We found that gray matter atrophy of left mTLE patients was more severe than that of right mTLE patients in the whole brain and especially within the semantic cognition network in their contralateral hemisphere. It suggested that seizure attacks were rather targeted than random for patients with hippocampal sclerosis (HS) in the dominant hemisphere. Functional connectivity analysis during resting state fMRI revealed that subregions of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) in the left HS patients were no longer effectively connected. Further, we found that, unlike in right HS patients, increased causal linking between ipsilateral regions in the left HS epilepsy patients cannot make up for their decreased contralateral interaction. It suggested that weakened contralateral connection and disrupted effective interaction between subregions of the unitary, transmodal hub of the ATL may be the primary cause of anomia in the left HS patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3860
Author(s):  
Elisa Ren ◽  
Giulia Curia

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is one of the most common types of focal epilepsy, characterized by recurrent spontaneous seizures originating in the temporal lobe(s), with mesial TLE (mTLE) as the worst form of TLE, often associated with hippocampal sclerosis. Abnormal epileptiform discharges are the result, among others, of altered cell-to-cell communication in both chemical and electrical transmissions. Current knowledge about the neurobiology of TLE in human patients emerges from pathological studies of biopsy specimens isolated from the epileptogenic zone or, in a few more recent investigations, from living subjects using positron emission tomography (PET). To overcome limitations related to the use of human tissue, animal models are of great help as they allow the selection of homogeneous samples still presenting a more various scenario of the epileptic syndrome, the presence of a comparable control group, and the availability of a greater amount of tissue for in vitro/ex vivo investigations. This review provides an overview of the structural and functional alterations of synaptic connections in the brain of TLE/mTLE patients and animal models.


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-He Wang ◽  
Si-Chang Chen ◽  
Peng-Hu Wei ◽  
Kun Yang ◽  
Xiao-Tong Fan ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction In this report, we aim to describe the design for the randomised controlled trial of Stereotactic electroencephalogram (EEG)-guided Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation versus Anterior Temporal Lobectomy for Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Hippocampal Sclerosis (STARTS). Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) is a classical subtype of temporal lobe epilepsy that often requires surgical intervention. Although anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) remains the most popular treatment for mTLE, accumulating evidence has indicated that ATL can cause tetartanopia and memory impairments. Stereotactic EEG (SEEG)-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RF-TC) is a non-invasive alternative associated with lower seizure freedom but greater preservation of neurological function. In the present study, we aim to compare the safety and efficacy of SEEG-guided RF-TC and classical ATL in the treatment of mTLE. Methods and analysis STARTS is a single-centre, two-arm, randomised controlled, parallel-group clinical trial. The study includes patients with typical mTLE over the age of 14 who have drug-resistant seizures for at least 2 years and have been determined via detailed evaluation to be surgical candidates prior to randomisation. The primary outcome measure is the cognitive function at the 1-year follow-up after treatment. Seizure outcomes, visual field abnormalities after surgery, quality of life, ancillary outcomes, and adverse events will also be evaluated at 1-year follow-up as secondary outcomes. Discussion SEEG-guided RF-TC for mTLE remains a controversial seizure outcome but has the advantage for cognitive and visual field protection. This is the first RCT studying cognitive outcomes and treatment results between SEEG-guided RF-TC and standard ATL for mTLE with hippocampal sclerosis. This study may provide higher levels of clinical evidence for the treatment of mTLE. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03941613. Registered on May 8, 2019. The STARTS protocol has been registered on the US National Institutes of Health. The status of the STARTS was recruiting and the estimated study completion date was December 31, 2021.


Author(s):  
Nathália Stela Visoná de Figueiredo ◽  
Larissa Botelho Gaça ◽  
Idaiane Batista Assunção-Leme ◽  
Lenon Mazetto ◽  
Maria Teresa Fernandes Castilho Garcia ◽  
...  

Seizure ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 74-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Casciato ◽  
Angelo Picardi ◽  
Alfredo D’Aniello ◽  
Marco De Risi ◽  
Giovanni Grillea ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (6) ◽  
pp. 1237-1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
László Seress ◽  
Hajnalka Ábrahám ◽  
Zsolt Horváth ◽  
Tamás Dóczi ◽  
József Janszky ◽  
...  

Object Hippocampal sclerosis can be identified in most patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Surgical removal of the sclerotic hippocampus is widely performed to treat patients with drug-resistant mesial TLE. In general, both epilepsy-prone and epilepsy-resistant neurons are believed to be in the hippocampal formation. The hilar mossy cells of the hippocampal dentate gyrus are usually considered one of the most vulnerable types of neurons. The aim of this study was to clarify the fate of mossy cells in the hippocampus in epileptic humans. Methods Of the 19 patients included in this study, 15 underwent temporal lobe resection because of drug-resistant TLE. Four patients were used as controls because they harbored tumors that had not invaded the hippocampus and they had experienced no seizures. Histological evaluation of resected hippocampal tissues was performed using immunohistochemistry. Results Mossy cells were identified in the control as well as the epileptic hippocampi by using cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide immunohistochemistry. In most cases the number of mossy cells was reduced and thorny excrescences were smaller in the epileptic hippocampi than in controls; however, there was a significant loss of pyramidal cells and a partial loss of granule cells in the same epileptic hippocampi in which mossy cell loss was apparent. The loss of mossy cells could be correlated with the extent of hippocampal sclerosis, patient age at seizure onset, duration of epilepsy, and frequency of seizures. Conclusions In many cases large numbers of mossy cells were present in the hilus of the dentate gyrus when most pyramidal neurons of the CA1 and CA3 areas of the Ammon's horn were lost, suggesting that mossy cells may not be more vulnerable to epileptic seizures than the hippocampal pyramidal neurons.


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