J Korean Epilepsy Soc.  2005 Dec;9(2):143-147.

The Effects of Hippocampal Sclerosis Revealed by MRI on the Pharmacoresistance of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

• Kang H
• Kwon OY
• Choi DS
• Lee L
• Kim JH
• Park KJ
• Choi NC
• Lim BH

Abstract

PURPOSE
Hippocampal sclerosis is known to strongly correlate with medical intractability of temporal lobe epilepsy. However, the informations about this have been biased due to improper selection of the sampling obtained from severe cases of tertiary epilepsy center and surgical epilepsy field. We tried to investigate the influence of hippocampal sclerosis on the pharmacoresistance in temporal lobe epilepsy by group comparison study. METHODS: The fifty patients with complex partial seizures of temporal lobe origin, and temporal spike on EEG and/or hippocampal sclerosis on brain MRI were selected. Follow-up period of them were more than 2 years. The patients who had a seizure or seizures during the last 1-year period and had already been in adequate doses of two or more antiepileptic drugs were considered to be poorly controlled epileptics. RESULTS: Five of 17 patients without hippocampal sclerosis (29. 4%) and 24 of 33 patients with hippocampal sclerosis (72.7%) were poorly controlled by medication and the difference was significant (p=0.003, chi-square). Other factors, including sex, age of onset, febrile convulsion, secondary generalization, familial history of epilepsy, duration of disease, and delay of initial therapy had no significant effects on medical response (p>0.05). The only independent predictor of intractable epilepsy after multiple logistic regression analysis was also hippocampal sclerosis (p=0.005). CONCLUSION: Medical response in temporal lobe epilepsy was significantly associated with hippocampal sclerosis. Hippocampal sclerosis on brain MRI itself may be a crucial factor determining pharmacoresistance of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Keyword

Hippocampus; MRI scan; Temporal lobe epilepsy; Complex partial seizure disorder; Drug resistance

MeSH Terms

Age of Onset
Anticonvulsants
Bias (Epidemiology)
Brain
Drug Resistance
Electroencephalography
Epilepsy
Epilepsy, Complex Partial
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe*
Follow-Up Studies
Generalization (Psychology)
Hippocampus
Humans
Logistic Models
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Sclerosis*
Seizures
Seizures, Febrile
Temporal Lobe*
Anticonvulsants