scholarly journals Correlation between magnetoencephalography-based “clusterectomy” and postoperative seizure freedom

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. E9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumeet Vadera ◽  
Lara Jehi ◽  
Richard C. Burgess ◽  
Katherine Shea ◽  
Andreas V. Alexopoulos ◽  
...  

Object During the presurgical evaluation of patients with medically intractable focal epilepsy, a variety of noninvasive studies are performed to localize the hypothetical epileptogenic zone and guide the resection. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is becoming increasingly used in the clinical realm for this purpose. No investigators have previously reported on coregisteration of MEG clusters with postoperative resection cavities to evaluate whether complete “clusterectomy” (resection of the area associated with MEG clusters) was performed or to compare these findings with postoperative seizure-free outcomes. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts and imaging studies of 65 patients undergoing MEG followed by resective epilepsy surgery from 2009 until 2012 at the Cleveland Clinic. Preoperative MEG studies were fused with postoperative MRI studies to evaluate whether clusters were within the resected area. These data were then correlated with postoperative seizure freedom. Results Sixty-five patients were included in this study. The average duration of follow-up was 13.9 months, the mean age at surgery was 23.1 years, and the mean duration of epilepsy was 13.7 years. In 30 patients, the main cluster was located completely within the resection cavity, in 28 it was completely outside the resection cavity, and in 7 it was partially within the resection cavity. Seventy-four percent of patients were seizure free at 12 months after surgery, and this rate decreased to 60% at 24 months. Improved likelihood of seizure freedom was seen with complete clusterectomy in patients with localization outside the temporal lobe (extra–temporal lobe epilepsy) (p = 0.04). Conclusions In patients with preoperative MEG studies that show clusters in surgically accessible areas outside the temporal lobe, we suggest aggressive resection to improve the chances for seizure freedom. When the cluster is found within the temporal lobe, further diagnostic testing may be required to better localize the epileptogenic zone.

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 858-870
Author(s):  
Shwetal Uday Pawar ◽  
Sangeeta Hasmukh Ravat ◽  
Dattatraya Prakash Muzumdar ◽  
Shilpa Sushilkumar Sankhe ◽  
Akash Harakchand Chheda ◽  
...  

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000013033
Author(s):  
Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht ◽  
Daniel L. Drane ◽  
Simon Sean Keller ◽  
Kathryn A. Davis ◽  
Robert Gross ◽  
...  

Objective:To determine the association between surgical lesions of distinct grey and white structures and connections with favorable post-operative seizure outcomes.Methods:Patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) from three epilepsy centers were included. We employed a voxel-based and connectome-based mapping approach to determine the association between favorable outcomes and surgery-induced temporal lesions. Analyses were conducted controlling for multiple confounders, including total surgical resection/ablation volume, hippocampal volumes, side of surgery, and site where the patient was treated.Results:The cohort included 113 patients with TLE [54 women; 86 right-handed; 16.5 (SD = 11.9) age at seizure onset, 54.9% left] who were 61.1% free of disabling seizures (Engel class 1) at follow-up. Postoperative seizure freedom in TLE was associated with 1) surgical lesions that targeted the hippocampus as well as the amygdala-piriform cortex complex and entorhinal cortices; 2) disconnection of temporal, frontal, and limbic regions through loss of white matter tracts within the uncinate fasciculus, anterior commissure, and fornix; and 3) functional disconnection of the frontal (superior and middle frontal gyri, orbitofrontal region) and temporal (superior and middle pole) lobes.Conclusions:Better postoperative seizure freedom are associated with surgical lesions of specific structures and connections throughout the temporal lobes. These findings shed light on the key components of epileptogenic networks in TLE and constitute a promising source of new evidence for future improvements in surgical interventions.Classification of Evidence:This study provides Class II evidence that for patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, postoperative seizure freedom is associated with surgical lesions of specific temporal lobe structures and connections.


Author(s):  
Constantin Pistol ◽  
Andrei Daneasa ◽  
Jean Ciurea ◽  
Alin Rasina ◽  
Andrei Barborica ◽  
...  

Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) in children with intractable epilepsy presents particular challenges. Their thin and partially ossified cranium, specifically in the temporal area, is prone to fracture while attaching stereotactic systems to the head or stabilizing the head in robot’s field of action. Postponing SEEG in this special population of patients can have serious consequences, reducing their chances of becoming seizure-free and impacting their social and cognitive development. This study demonstrates the safety and accuracy offered by a frameless personalized 3D printed stereotactic implantation system for SEEG investigations in children under 4 years of age. SEEG was carried out in a 3-year-old patient with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, based on a right temporal-perisylvian epileptogenic zone hypothesis. Fifteen intracerebral electrodes were placed using a StarFix patient-customized stereotactic fixture. The median lateral entry point localization error of the electrodes was 0.90 mm, median lateral target point localization error was 1.86 mm, median target depth error was 0.83 mm, and median target point localization error was 1.96 mm. There were no perioperative complications. SEEG data led to a tailored right temporal-insular-opercular resection, with resulting seizure freedom (Engel IA). In conclusion, patient-customized stereotactic fixtures are a safe and accurate option for SEEG exploration in young children.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez ◽  
Jeffrey Mullin ◽  
Juan Bulacio ◽  
Ajay Gupta ◽  
Rei Enatsu ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Although stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) has been shown to be a valuable tool for preoperative decision making in focal epilepsy, there are few reports addressing the utility and safety of SEEG methodology applied to children and adolescents. OBJECTIVE: To present the results of our early experience using SEEG in pediatric patients with difficult-to-localize epilepsy who were not considered candidates for subdural grid evaluation. METHODS: Thirty children and adolescents with the diagnosis of medically refractory focal epilepsy (not considered ideal candidates for subdural grids and strip placement) underwent SEEG implantation. Demographics, electrophysiological localization of the hypothetical epileptogenic zone, complications, and seizure outcome after resections were analyzed. RESULTS: Eighteen patients (60%) underwent resections after SEEG implantations. In patients who did not undergo resections (12 patients), reasons included failure to localize the epileptogenic zone (4 patients); multifocal epileptogenic zone (4 patients); epileptogenic zone located in eloquent cortex, preventing resection (3 patients); and improvement in seizures after the implantation (1 patient). In patients who subsequently underwent resections, 10 patients (55.5%) were seizure free (Engel class I) and 5 patients (27.7%) experienced seizure improvement (Engel class II or III) at the end of the follow-up period (mean, 25.9 months; range, 12 to 47 months). The complication rate in SEEG implantations was 3%. CONCLUSION: The SEEG methodology is safe and should be considered in children/adolescents with difficult-to-localize epilepsy. When applied to highly complex and difficult-to-localize pediatric patients, SEEG may provide an additional opportunity for seizure freedom in association with a low morbidity rate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot G. Neal ◽  
Mike R. Schoenberg ◽  
Stephanie Maciver ◽  
Yarema B. Bezchlibnyk ◽  
Fernando L. Vale

Background: Brain regions positively correlated with the epileptogenic zone in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy vary in spread across the brain and in the degree of correlation to the temporal lobes, thalamus, and limbic structures, and these parameters have been associated with pre-operative cognitive impairment and seizure freedom after epilepsy surgery, but negatively correlated regions have not been as well studied. We hypothesize that connectivity within a negatively correlated epilepsy network may predict which patients with temporal lobe epilepsy will respond best to surgery.Methods: Scalp EEG and resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) were collected from 19 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and used to estimate the irritative zone. Using patients’ rsfMRI, the negatively correlated epilepsy network was mapped by determining all the brain voxels that were negatively correlated with the voxels in the epileptogenic zone and the spread and average connectivity within the network was determined.Results: Pre-operatively, connectivity within the negatively correlated network was inversely related to the spread (diffuseness) of that network and positively associated with higher baseline verbal and logical memory. Pre-operative connectivity within the negatively correlated network was also significantly higher in patients who would go on to be seizure free.Conclusion: Patients with higher connectivity within brain regions negatively correlated with the epilepsy network had higher baseline memory function, narrower network spread, and were more likely to be seizure free after surgery.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Alim-Marvasti ◽  
Fernando Pérez-García ◽  
Karan Dahele ◽  
Gloria Romagnoli ◽  
Beate Diehl ◽  
...  

Background: Epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide and a third are refractory to medication. If a discrete cerebral focus or network can be identified, neurosurgical resection can be curative. Most excisions are in the temporal-lobe, and are more likely to result in seizure-freedom than extra-temporal resections. However, less than half of patients undergoing surgery become entirely seizure-free. Localizing the epileptogenic-zone and individualized outcome predictions are difficult, requiring detailed evaluations at specialist centers.Methods: We used bespoke natural language processing to text-mine 3,800 electronic health records, from 309 epilepsy surgery patients, evaluated over a decade, of whom 126 remained entirely seizure-free. We investigated the diagnostic performances of machine learning models using set-of-semiology (SoS) with and without hippocampal sclerosis (HS) on MRI as features, using STARD criteria.Findings: Support Vector Classifiers (SVC) and Gradient Boosted (GB) decision trees were the best performing algorithms for temporal-lobe epileptogenic zone localization (cross-validated Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) SVC 0.73 ± 0.25, balanced accuracy 0.81 ± 0.14, AUC 0.95 ± 0.05). Models that only used seizure semiology were not always better than internal benchmarks. The combination of multimodal features, however, enhanced performance metrics including MCC and normalized mutual information (NMI) compared to either alone (p < 0.0001). This combination of semiology and HS on MRI increased both cross-validated MCC and NMI by over 25% (NMI, SVC SoS: 0.35 ± 0.28 vs. SVC SoS+HS: 0.61 ± 0.27).Interpretation: Machine learning models using only the set of seizure semiology (SoS) cannot unequivocally perform better than benchmarks in temporal epileptogenic-zone localization. However, the combination of SoS with an imaging feature (HS) enhance epileptogenic lobe localization. We quantified this added NMI value to be 25% in absolute terms. Despite good performance in localization, no model was able to predict seizure-freedom better than benchmarks. The methods used are widely applicable, and the performance enhancements by combining other clinical, imaging and neurophysiological features could be similarly quantified. Multicenter studies are required to confirm generalizability.Funding: Wellcome/EPSRC Center for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS) (203145Z/16/Z).


Neurosurgery ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aria Fallah ◽  
Shaun D. Rodgers ◽  
Alexander G. Weil ◽  
Sumeet Vadera ◽  
Alireza Mansouri ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: There are no established variables that predict the success of curative resective epilepsy surgery in children with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). OBJECTIVE: We performed a multicenter observational study to identify preoperative factors associated with seizure outcome in children with TSC undergoing resective epilepsy surgery. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed in eligible children at New York Medical Center, Miami Children's Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, BC Children's Hospital, Hospital for Sick Children, and Sainte-Justine Hospital between January 2005 and December 2013. A time-to-event analysis was performed. The “event” was defined as seizures after resective epilepsy surgery. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients (41 male) were included. The median age of the patients at the time of surgery was 120 months (range, 3-216 months). The median time to seizure recurrence was 24.0 ± 12.7 months. Engel Class I outcome was achieved in 48 (65%) and 37 (50%) patients at 1- and 2-year follow-up, respectively. On univariate analyses, younger age at seizure onset (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-4.00, P = .04), larger size of predominant tuber (HR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.99-1.06, P = .12), and resection larger than a tuberectomy (HR: 1.86, 95% CI: 0.92-3.74, P = .084) were associated with a longer duration of seizure freedom. In multivariate analyses, resection larger than a tuberectomy (HR: 2.90, 95% CI: 1.17-7.18, P = .022) was independently associated with a longer duration of seizure freedom. CONCLUSION: In this large consecutive cohort of children with TSC and medically intractable epilepsy, a greater extent of resection (more than just the tuber) is associated with a greater probability of seizure freedom. This suggests that the epileptogenic zone may include the cortex surrounding the presumed offending tuber.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-22
Author(s):  
V. M. Dzhafarov ◽  
A. B. Dmitriev ◽  
N. P. Denisova ◽  
D. A. Rzaev

Introduction. Invasive video-EEG monitoring (invasive EEG) is indicated in patients with refractory focal epilepsy while localization of the epileptogenic zone is unclear. Methods of invasive EEG in different groups of patients demonstrate variable results.Objective: to analyse the results of invasive EEG via subdural and depth electrodes in patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy with mesial temporal lobe seizures.Materials and methods. The series of 37 patients who underwent invasive EEG from 2013 to 2020 was retrospectively analysed. The study includes primary adult patients with structural refractory focal epilepsy with mesial temporal lobe seizures without tumor and vascular pathology. Patients were divided onto 3 groups: 1) with foramen ovale electrodes 2) subdural strip electrodes and 3) combination of subdural strips and depths electrodes. The results of anteromedial temporal lobectomy after 6 months were classified according to Engel scale.Results. A group with foramen ovale electrodes included 7 patients, subdural strips – 23, combination – 7. The seizure onset zone was detected in 36 (97 %) cases. Serious complications were observed in 2 (29 %) cases in the group with foramen ovale electrodes. The mean follow-up in 23 (76 %) patients after resective surgery was 28.3 months. Favourable results (Engel I, II) were observed in 4 (80 %) patients with foramen ovale electrodes, in 8 (67 %) patients with subdural electrodes, in 6 (100 %) with combination. Unfavourable results (Engel III, IV) were noted in 1 (20 %) patient with foramen ovale electrode, in 4 (33 %) patients with subdural strips.Conclusion. All the presented modalities of invasive EEG are effective for localizing of seizure onset zone in this category of patients. Foramen ovale electrode using may be limited due to increased risk of complications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 711-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fady Girgis ◽  
Madeline E Greil ◽  
Philip S Fastenau ◽  
Jennifer Sweet ◽  
Hans Lüders ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Multiple hippocampal transection (MHT) is a surgical treatment for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy associated with improved postoperative neuropsychological outcomes compared with lobectomy. OBJECTIVE To determine whether resection of the amygdala and anterior temporal neocortex during MHT affects postoperative seizure/memory outcome. METHODS Seventeen patients with normal magnetic resonance imaging and stereo-electroencephalogram-proven drug-resistant dominant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy were treated with MHT. Nine patients underwent MHT alone (MHT–) and 8 patients underwent MHT plus removal of the amygdala and anterior 4.5 cm of temporal neocortex lateral to the fusiform gyrus (MHT+). Verbal and visual-spatial memory were assessed in all patients preoperatively and in 14 patients postoperatively using the Wechsler Memory Scale. Postoperative seizure control was assessed at 12 months for all patients. RESULTS Overall, 11 of 17 patients (64.7%) were Engel class 1 at 1 year (6/9 MHT–, 5/8 MHT+, P = .38), and 10 of 14 patients (71.4%) had no significant postoperative decline in either verbal or visual memory (6/8 MHT–, 4/6 MHT+, P = .42). Verbal memory declined in 2 of 8 MHT– and 1 of 6 MHT+ patients, and visual memory declined in 1 of 8 MHT– and 2 of 6 MHT+ patients. Two patients had improved visual memory postoperatively, both in the MHT+ group. CONCLUSION MHT on the dominant side is associated with high rates of seizure freedom and favorable memory preservation outcomes regardless of the extent of neocortical resection. Preservation of the temporal neocortex and amygdala during MHT does not appear to decrease the risk of postoperative memory decline, nor does it alter seizure outcome.


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