Progressive hippocampal atrophy in chronic intractable temporal lobe epilepsy
Terence J. O'Brien MB BS, FRACP
Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Elson L. So MD
Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Section of Electroencephalography, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905Search for more papers by this authorFredrick B. Meyer MD
Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorJoseph E. Parisi MD
Department of Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorClifford R. Jack MD
Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorTerence J. O'Brien MB BS, FRACP
Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Elson L. So MD
Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Section of Electroencephalography, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905Search for more papers by this authorFredrick B. Meyer MD
Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorJoseph E. Parisi MD
Department of Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorClifford R. Jack MD
Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
We report on a 28-year-old man with long-standing intractable complex partial and secondary generalized seizures, whose magnetic resonance imaging scans 4 years apart documented progressive decrease in the left hippocampal volume. Left anterior temporal lobectomy with amygdalohippocampectomy rendered the patient seizure free at 12 months' follow-up. The findings demonstrate that patients with uncontrolled temporal lobe seizures may develop progressive atrophy of the hippocampus, in the absence of status epilepticus. Ann Neurol 1999;45:526–529
References
- 1 Pringle C, Blume W, Munoz D, Leung L. Pathogenesis of mesial temporal sclerosis. Can J Neurol Sci 1993; 20: 184–193
- 2 Mathern G, Babb T, Vickrey B, et al. The clinico-pathogenic mechanisms of hippocampal neuron loss and surgical outcomes in temporal lobe epilepsy. Brain 1995; 188: 105–118
- 3 Berg A, Shinnar S, Hauser W, et al. A prospective study of recurrent febrile seizures. N Engl J Med 1992; 327: 1122–1127
- 4 Sugar H, Oxbury J. Hippocampal neuron loss in temporal lobe epilepsy: correlation with early childhood convulsions. Ann Neurol 1987; 22: 334–340
- 5 Rocca W, Sharbrough F, Hauser W, et al. Risk factors for complex partial seizures: a population-based case-control study. Ann Neurol 1987; 21: 22–31
- 6 Falconer M, Taylor D. Surgical treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy due to mesial temporal sclerosis. Arch Neurol 1968; 19: 353–361
- 7 Earle K, Baldwin M, Penfield W. Incisural sclerosis and temporal lobe seizures produced by hippocampal herniation at birth. Arch Neurol Psychiatry 1953; 69: 27–42
- 8 Gastaut H, Toga M, Roger J, Gibson W. A correlation of clinical and electrographic and anatomical findings in nine autopsied cases of “temporal lobe epilepsy”. Epilepsia 1959; 1: 56–85
- 9 Mouritzen-Dam A. Epilepsy and neuronal loss in the hippocampus. Epilepsia 1980; 21: 617–629
- 10 Weishmann U, Woermann F, Lemieux L, et al. Development of hippocampal atrophy: a serial magnetic resonance imaging study in a patient who developed epilepsy after generalized status epilepticus. Epilepsia 1997; 38: 1238–1241
- 11 Nohria V, Lee N, Tien R, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging evidence of hippocampal sclerosis in progression: a case report. Epilepsia 1994; 35: 1332–1336
- 12 Tien R, Felsberg G. The hippocampus in status epilepticus: demonstration of signal intensity and morphologic changes with sequential fast spin-echo MR imaging. Radiology 1995; 194: 249–256
- 13 Jack CR Jr, Theodore WH, Cook M, McCarthy G. MRI based hippocampal volumetrics: data acquisition, normal ranges, and optimal protocol. Magn Reson Imaging 1995; 13: 1057–1064
- 14 Murrie V, O'Brien T, Cook M, et al. Quantitative MRI hippocampal volumes do not correlate with potential causes of secondary hippocampal sclerosis. Epilepsia 1995; 36(Suppl 4): S80 (Abstract)
- 15 Cendes F, Andermann F, Gloor P, et al. Atrophy of mesial temporal structures in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy: cause or consequence of repeated seizures? Ann Neurol 1993; 34: 795–801
- 16 Trenerry M, Jack C, Sharbrough F, et al. Quantitative MRI hippocampal volumes: association with onset and duration of epilepsy, and febrile convulsions in temporal lobectomy patients. Epilepsy Res 1993; 15: 247–252
- 17 Kälviäinen R, Salmenperä T, Partanen K, et al. Recurrent seizures may cause hippocampal damage in temporal lobe epilepsy. Neurology 1998; 50: 1377–1382
- 18 Cook M, Fish D, Shorvon S, et al. Hippocampal volumetric and morphometric studies in frontal and temporal lobe epilepsy. Brain 1992; 115: 1001–1015
- 19 Babb T, Brown W, Pretorius J, et al. Temporal lobe volumetric cell densities in temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia 1984; 25: 729–740
- 20 Babb T, Lieb J, Brown W, et al. Distribution of pyramidal cell density and hyperexcitability in the epileptic human hippocampal formation. Epilepsia 1984; 25: 721–728