Temporal-lobe seizures with additional foci treated by resection

1975 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 596-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Van Buren ◽  
Cosimo Ajmone Marsan ◽  
Naomi Mutsuga
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Epileptiform Activity ◽  
Epileptic Activity ◽  
Temporal Lobectomy ◽  
Seizure Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Implanted Electrodes ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The authors describe the use of temporal lobectomy following careful and repeated electroencephalogram (EEG) evaluation (with implanted electrodes in otherwise unresolvable cases) in the epileptic group characterized by automatisms (psychomotor seizures) with temporal epileptiform activity complicated by EEG foci in the opposite temporal lobe or by extratemporal activity. They found that this can render a significant number of patients (between 25% and 50%) either seizure-free or with significant and useful reduction in their seizure frequency. The cure and improvement rates of cases followed up after temporal resection with or without prior study with implanted electrodes were approximately equal. However, the implanted electrodes permitted surgical treatment of certain cases which would have been rejected on the basis of evidence derived from the scalp recordings alone. Of 28 of these 34 patients with persisting EEG epileptiform activity in the postoperative period, only one had such activity in a different location in a follow-up period of 6 years. No evidence of spreading epileptic activity or appearance of “mirror foci” was seen during a follow-up period averaging 8.2 years. Seizure remission up to 15 years with eventual recurrence of the original seizure type may occur following surgical therapy. Follow-up studies of surgical epileptic treatment of less than 3 to 5 years are of doubtful value.

Significance of surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy in childhood and adolescence

1970 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray A. Falconer
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Temporal Lobectomy ◽  
Mesial Temporal Sclerosis ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pathological Lesion ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The problem of childhood temporal lobe epilepsy is reviewed and illustrated from three cases in which the patients were freed from fits by temporal lobectomy. The pathological lesion (mesial temporal sclerosis) is discussed and the likelihood that many adult cases have gone unrecognized in childhood is emphasized.

Dose—response tolerance of the visual pathways and cranial nerves of the cavernous sinus to stereotactic radiosurgery

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus A. Leber ◽  
Jutta Berglöff ◽  
Gerhard Pendl
Keyword(s):  
Stereotactic Radiosurgery ◽  
Cavernous Sinus ◽  
Dose Response ◽  
Cranial Nerves ◽  
Visual Pathways ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Response Tolerance ◽  
Fine Print

As the number of patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery increases, it becomes particularly important to define with precision adverse effects on distinct structures of the nervous system. Object. This study was designed to assess the dose—response tolerance of the visual pathways and cranial nerves after exposure of the cavernous sinus to radiation. Methods. A total of 66 sites in the visual system and 210 cranial nerves of the middle cranial fossa were investigated in 50 patients who had undergone gamma knife treatment for benign skull base tumors. The mean follow-up period was 40 months (range 24–60 months). Follow-up examinations consisted of neurological, neuroradiological, and neuroophthalmological evaluations. The actuarial incidence of optic neuropathy was zero for patients who received a radiation dose of less than 10 Gy, 26.7% for patients receiving a dose in the range of 10 to less than 15 Gy, and 77.8% for those who received doses of 15 Gy or more (p < 0.0001). Previously impaired vision improved in 25.8% and was unchanged in 51.5% of patients. No sign of neuropathy was seen in patients whose cranial nerves of the cavernous sinus received radiation doses of between 5 and 30 Gy. Because tumor control appeared to have been achieved in 98% of the patients, the deterioration in visual function cannot be attributed to tumor progression. Conclusions. The structures of the visual pathways (the optic nerve, chiasm, and tract) exhibit a much higher sensitivity to single-fraction radiation than other cranial nerves, and their particular dose—response characteristics can be defined. In contrast, the oculomotor and trigeminal nerves have a much higher dose tolerance.

Preoperative predictors of anterior temporal language areas

1998 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 962-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore H. Schwartz ◽  
Orrin Devinsky ◽  
Werner Doyle ◽  
Kenneth Perrine
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Temporal Lobectomy ◽  
Seizure Onset ◽  
Anterior Temporal Lobe ◽  
Verbal Iq ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Language Areas ◽  
Fine Print

Object. Although it is known that 5 to 10% of patients have language areas anterior to the rolandic cortex, many surgeons still perform standard anterior temporal lobectomies for epilepsy of mesial onset and report minimal long-term dysphasia. The authors examined the importance of language mapping before anterior temporal lobectomy. Methods. The authors mapped naming, reading, and speech arrest in a series of 67 patients via stimulation of long-term implanted subdural grids before resective epilepsy surgery and correlated the presence of language areas in the anterior temporal lobe with preoperative demographic and neuropsychometric data. Naming (p < 0.03) and reading (p < 0.05) errors were more common than speech arrest in patients undergoing surgery in the anterior temporal lobe. In the approximate region of a standard anterior temporal lobectomy, including 2.5 cm of the superior temporal gyrus and 4.5 cm of both the middle and inferior temporal gyrus, the authors identified language areas in 14.5% of patients tested. Between 1.5 and 3.5 cm from the temporal tip, patients who had seizure onset before 6 years of age had more naming (p < 0.02) and reading (p < 0.01) areas than those in whom seizure onset occurred after age 6 years. Patients with a verbal intelligence quotient (IQ) lower than 90 had more naming (p < 0.05) and reading (p < 0.02) areas than those with an IQ higher than 90. Finally, patients who were either left handed or right hemisphere memory dominant had more naming (p < 0.05) and reading (p < 0.02) areas than right-handed patients with bilateral or left hemisphere memory lateralization. Postoperative neuropsychometric testing showed a trend toward a greater decline in naming ability in patients who were least likely to have anterior language areas, that is, those with higher verbal IQ and later seizure onset. Conclusions. Preoperative identification of markers of left hemisphere damage, such as early seizure onset, poor verbal IQ, left handedness, and right hemisphere memory dominance should alert neurosurgeons to the possibility of encountering essential language areas in the anterior temporal lobe (1.5–3.5 cm from the temporal tip). Naming and reading tasks are required to identify these areas. Whether removal of these areas necessarily induces long-term impairment in verbal abilities is unknown; however, in patients with a low verbal IQ and early seizure onset, these areas appear to be less critical for language processing.

Surgical management of epilepsy using epidural recordings to localize the seizure focus

1984 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Goldring ◽  
Erik M. Gregorie
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Focal Epilepsy ◽  
Temporal Lobectomy ◽  
Epileptogenic Focus ◽  
Electrode Arrays ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Seizure Focus ◽  
Depth Electrodes ◽  
Sensory Evoked ◽  
Fine Print

✓ One hundred patients with focal epilepsy (44 were children) were evaluated with extraoperative electrocorticography via epidural electrode arrays. Localization of the epileptogenic focus was derived predominantly from recordings made during spontaneously occurring seizures. All resection procedures were carried out under general anesthesia. During anesthesia, the recording of sensory evoked responses made it possible to readily identify the sensorimotor region. Of the 100 patients, 72 underwent resection of an epileptogenic focus, and 33 of these were children. Those who did not have a resection either exhibited a diffuse seizure focus, failed to show an electrical seizure discharge in association with the clinical seizure, failed to have a seizure during the period of monitoring, or failed to exhibit conclusive changes for identifying a focus in the interictal record. Fifty-seven patients (29 children and 28 adults) who had a resection have been followed for between 1 and 12 years. Eighteen (62%) of the 29 children and 18 (64%) of the 28 adults enjoyed a good result. Twenty of the 100 patients reported here had temporal lobe epilepsy. They were candidates for recordings with depth electrodes to identify their focus, but they were evaluated instead with epidural recordings; the method is described. In 15 of them, a unilateral focus was identified and they underwent an anterior temporal lobectomy. Pathological changes were found in every case and, in 11 patients, the epidural recordings distinguished between a medial and a lateral focus. Ten of these patients have been followed for 9 months to 3½ years, and seven have had a good result. The observations suggest that epidural electrodes may be used in lieu of depth electrodes for identifying the symptomatic temporal lobe.

Control of temporal lobe epilepsy following en bloc resection of low-grade tumors

1993 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Minal Honavar ◽  
Ivan Janota ◽  
Charles E. Polkey
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Age At Onset ◽  
Tumor Resection ◽  
Temporal Lobectomy ◽  
Dysembryoplastic Neuroepithelial Tumor ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Incomplete Removal

✓ Thirty-one patients with a mean age of 18.9 years (range 3 to 53 years) who underwent temporal lobe surgery for tumor-related epilepsy over a 14-year period are presented. All had suffered chronic drug-resistant temporal lobe seizures (mean age at onset 6.9 years, range 0 to 30 years; mean duration of condition 11.9 years, range 3 to 39 years). Preoperative interictal scalp electroencephalography tracings indicated unilateral localized epileptic foci in 90% of patients, and computerized tomography scans showed abnormalities within the temporal lobe in 87%. All patients underwent en bloc temporal lobectomy. No patient received adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Review of the histological material showed dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor in 27 (87%) of the specimens and microscopic evidence of incomplete removal of tumor in 22 (71%). At long-term follow-up evaluation (mean duration 5.8 years, range 1 to 14 years), 81% of patients were completely free of seizures (Engel grade I) and 10% were almost seizure free (Engel grade II) with no deaths reported in either early or late follow-up review. Only one patient in the series failed to benefit from the surgery. Four patients suffered permanent neurological deficit causing a mild disability. Psychological assessment showed no significant fall in verbal or performance intelligent quotient for the group, but a mild memory impairment was evident in 32%. Behavioral and social aspects improved in nearly all (94%) cases. Relief of seizures could not be predicted by intraoperative electrocorticography, and outcome was independent of the completeness of tumor resection. Postoperative electroencephalographic findings identified epileptiform potentials in 65% of patients, which were associated with a worse seizure-control outcome grade.

Ventricular shunt removal: the ultimate treatment of the slit ventricle syndrome

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 478-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan J. Baskin ◽  
Kim H. Manwaring ◽  
Harold L. Rekate
Keyword(s):  
Third Ventriculostomy ◽  
Slit Ventricle Syndrome ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Csf Diversion ◽  
Shunt Removal ◽  
Slit Ventricle ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an algorithm used to evaluate and prescribe treatment for patients having slit ventricle syndrome (SVS). Methods. All patients included in this protocol underwent fiberoptic intracranial pressure monitoring after removal or externalization of their ventricular shunt systems. A significant number of patients did not need extracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion and tolerated removal of their shunt systems without requiring further intervention. Patients who demonstrated a need for CSF drainage underwent an endoscopic third ventriculostomy, regardless of the putative cause of their hydrocephalus. Sixteen (72.7%) of 22 patients experienced resolution of or significant improvement in their SVS complaints after their inclusion in the protocol. Concomitantly, 14 (64%) of 22 patients were no longer shunt dependent after a mean follow-up period of 21.4 months. Conclusions. A significant number of patients debilitated by SVS may experience improvement in their symptoms and undergo shunt removal according to this protocol, improving their quality of life and simplifying their medical follow up.

Prospective analysis of diplopia after anterior temporal lobectomy for mesial temporal lobe sclerosis

2003 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol ◽  
Jacqueline A. Leavitt ◽  
James J. Lynch ◽  
W. Richard Marsh ◽  
Gregory D. Cascino
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Temporal Lobectomy ◽  
Palpebral Fissure ◽  
Ophthalmological Examination ◽  
Trochlear Nerve ◽  
Anterior Temporal Lobectomy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nerve Dysfunction ◽  
Mesial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Fine Print

Object. In this prospective study the authors investigated the incidence and natural history of postoperative diplopia in patients undergoing anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) and amygdalohippocampectomy for medically intractable mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Methods. Forty-seven patients scheduled for ATL for medically refractory seizures were examined preoperatively, 2 to 7 days postoperatively, and 3 to 6 months postoperatively. Ophthalmological examination including pupillary measurements, stereoacuity measurements, palpebral fissure measurements, vertical fusional amplitudes, Lancaster red green testing, visual field testing, and alternate cover testing was performed. Antiepileptic drug levels were monitored. Nine (19%) of 47 patients developed diplopia postoperatively. The diplopia was caused by trochlear nerve palsy in every case. No oculomotor nerve dysfunction was documented. Trochlear nerve function recovered completely in all patients within 3 to 6 months postoperatively. Conclusions. Postoperative diplopia following ATL occurs more often than previously thought and is primarily due to trochlear nerve dysfunction. Awareness of this transient complication is important in preoperative patient counseling.

Penetrating craniocerebral injuries in the Israeli involvement in the Lebanese conflict, 1982–1985

1990 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benny Brandvold ◽  
Lion Levi ◽  
Moshe Feinsod ◽  
Eugene D. George
Keyword(s):  
Medical Center ◽  
Head Injuries ◽  
Cerebral Tissue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Craniocerebral Injuries ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Bone Fragments ◽  
Fine Print

✓ From June, 1982, through June, 1985, 113 patients were evacuated to Rambam Maimonides Medical Center with penetrating craniocerebral injuries sustained in ongoing military hostilities in Lebanon. Two factors distinguished this group of patients from those presenting in earlier conflicts: 1) this was the first large series in which computerized tomography (CT) was routinely used to initially evaluate combat head injuries; and 2) in an effort to preserve maximum cerebral tissue, intracranial debridement was significantly less vigorous than that advocated during the Korean or Vietnam conflicts. No efforts were made to locate or remove indriven bone or metal fragments visualized on CT unless they readily presented themselves on gentle irrigation. In fact, it was elected to treat a number of patients without intracranial hematomas nonoperatively. The acute outcome was quite similar to that reported in Vietnam series in respect to both complications and mortality. Of the 83 survivors, 46 were Israeli citizens and thus were available for follow-up review. These 46 patients were reevaluated in late 1988, a mean follow-up period of 5.9 years. None had died in the interim; 10 had developed chronic seizure disorders, and there was one case of delayed meningitis in a patient with no retained fragments. Repeat CT scans were performed on 43 patients; 22 (51%) were found to have retained intracranial bone fragments. No relationship existed between the presence of retained fragments and the development of either a seizure disorder or an infection of the central nervous system. These findings suggest that not only is it unnecessary to reoperate for retained bone fragments, but it may also be possible to temper the initial debridement in an effort to preserve additional cerebral tissue.

Epileptiform activity extinguished by amygdala infusion of the neurotoxin ibotenate in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy

2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 450-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Pace ◽  
Russell R. Lonser ◽  
R. Duncan Kirkby ◽  
Neal Jeffries ◽  
Michael A. Rogawski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Rat Model ◽  
Seizure Activity ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Epileptiform Activity ◽  
Recurrent Seizure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The long-term antiseizure effects of local convection-enhanced infusion of the excitotoxin ibotenate were examined in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Methods. A single injection of kainate, an epileptogenic excitatory amino acid, into the left amygdala elicited chronic spontaneous recurrent seizure activity for at least 36 days after the injection. Two weeks after the injection, infusion of ibotenate, a nonepileptogenic excitatory amino acid that is an axon-sparing neuronal cell toxin, into the left amygdala and piriform lobe induced immediate and permanent extinction of electrical and behavioral seizure activity. Conclusions. Lesioning of an epileptic focus by convective distribution of ibotenate can produce an enduring suppression of seizure activity, indicating a chemical neurosurgical approach for epilepsy therapy.

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

2005 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 768-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross P. Carne ◽  
Terence J. O'Brien ◽  
Christine J. Kilpatrick ◽  
Lachlan R. MacGregor ◽  
Rodney J. Hicks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy ◽  
Clinical Features ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Granule Cells ◽  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Mr Images ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dentate Granule Cells ◽  
Fine Print

Abstract Object. The syndrome of medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) may occur in patients in whom magnetic resonance (MR) images demonstrate normal findings. In these patients, there is no evidence of hippocampal sclerosis on neuroimaging, and histopathological examination of the resected hippocampus does not reveal significant neuron loss. In this paper the authors describe the distinct clinical features of this MTLE subtype, referred to as paradoxical temporal lobe epilepsy (PTLE). Methods. The authors selected 12 consecutive patients with preoperative findings consistent with MTLE in whom MR imaging did not demonstrate any hippocampal abnormality. Onset of hippocampal seizure was confirmed by long-term intracranial monitoring. There were six female and six male patients with a mean age of 32 ± 11 years (mean ± standard deviation [SD]) at presentation. These patients' seizure histories, available hippocampal volumetric measurements, and hippocampal cell densities in different subfields were reviewed. Sharp electrode recordings from dentate granule cells that had been maintained in hippocampal slices provided a measure of excitation and inhibition in the tissue. We compared these data with those of a cohort of 50 randomly selected patients who underwent anteromedial temporal resection for medial temporal sclerosis (MTS) during the same time period (1987–1999). The durations of follow up (means ± SDs) for the PTLE and MTS groups were 51 ± 59 months and 88 ± 44 months, respectively. A history of febrile seizure was present less frequently in the PTLE group (8%) than in the MTS group (34%). Other risk factors for epilepsy such as trauma, meningoencephalitis, or perinatal injuries were present more frequently in the PTLE group (50%) than in the MTS cohort (36%). In patients in the PTLE group the first seizure occurred later in life (mean age at seizure onset 14 years in the PTLE group compared with 9 years in the MTS group, p = 0.09). Ten patients (83%) in the PTLE cohort and 23 patients (46%) in the MTLE cohort had secondary generalization of their seizures. Among patients with PTLE, volumetric measurements (five patients) and randomized blinded visual inspection (seven patients) of the bilateral hippocampi revealed no atrophy and no increased T2 signal change on preoperative MR images. All patients with PTLE underwent anteromedial temporal resection (amygdalohippocampectomy, in five patients on the left side and in seven on the right side). Electrophysiological studies of hippocampal slices demonstrated that dentate granule cells from patients with PTLE were significantly less excitable than those from patients with MTS. The mean pyramidal cell loss in the CA1 subfield in patients in the PTLE group was 20% (range 0–59%) and that in patients in the MTS group was 75% (range 41–90%) (p < 0.001). Maximal neuron loss (mean loss 38%) occurred in the CA4 region in six patients with PTLE (end folium sclerosis). At the last follow-up examination, six patients (50%) in the PTLE group were seizure free compared with 38 patients (76%) in the MTS group. Conclusions. Clinical PTLE is a distinct syndrome with clinical features and surgical outcomes different from those of MTS.

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