Clinical Characteristics of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Childhood

Jeong, Go Un; Cho, An Na; Lee, Jin Sook; Park, Jee Yoon; Moon, Jin Hwa; Hwang, Hee; Hwang, Yong Seung; Kim, Ki Joong; Chae, Jong Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE
Temporal lobe epilepsy(TLE) is now recognized as a distinct syndrome in adults. The seizure evolution in adult patients is well characterized, manifesting initially with an aura, behavioral arrest, automatism, and secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In contrast, relatively few studies are available for the pediatric age group. In the present study, we investigated children undergoing temporal lobectomy for refractory seizures and correlated the pathologic findings with clinical presentations.
METHODS
The records of the pediatric patients admitted at the Seoul National Children's Hospital for epilepsy surgery between January 1995 and December 2005 were reviewed. Then, eighteen patients were included in this study. The clinical records were reviewed in terms of the patient profiles imaging findings, surgical techniques, and pathologic findings. The seizure outcomes were described according to the Engel's classification.
RESULTS
The postsurgical outcomes were favorable. Lateral temporal epilepsy was more common in childhood than in adulthood. Dual pathology was commonly found. Arm dystonia or tonic arm elevation have a lateralizing value. Head turning may have a lateralizing value based upon a time sequence. The brain MRI was less predictable for pathologic findings. The ictal EEG cannot always have a localizing value. Delta beginning in the ictal rhythm may suggest lateral lobe epilepsy. Anterior temporal beginning of the ictal location may suggest mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Ganglioglioma tends to cause rhythmic beta activities at the beginning of the ictal event.
CONCLUSION
TLE in childhood shows more complex and atypical clinical manifestations and have more variable etiologies. No single presurgical investigation can be a good predictable value to localization or lateralization.