Abdominal auras in patients with mesial temporal sclerosis

Attacks With Urinary Incontinence Without Convulsions: Complete Atrioventricular Block Mimicking an Epileptic Seizure

Differentiating between syncope and epileptic seizures can be challenging when a specific medical history is not available. We herein report a 70s man who exhibited recurrent, brief unresponsiveness while at rest on five occasions over a year. While there were no convulsions, the patient consistently reported urinary incontinence. These events were preceded by an epigastric rising sensation without chest symptoms, suggesting a possible diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy, and subsequent EEG revealed temporal semi-rhythmic delta activity. In contrast, the ECG revealed a left bundle branch block, while the initial Holter ECG showed no abnormalities. However, subsequent follow-up examinations revealed a complete atrioventricular block necessitating permanent pacemaker implantation. It is important to exercise caution in the interpretation of EEG findings. Moreover, instances of 'urinary incontinence without convulsion' may indicate non-epileptic events.

Lateralizing Characteristics of Morphometric Changes to Hippocampus and Amygdala in Unilateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Hippocampal Sclerosis

Background andObjective: In the present study, a detailed investigation of substructural volume change in the hippocampus (HC) and amygdala (AMG) was performed and the association with clinical features in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) determined. Methods: The present study included 22 patients with left-sided TLE-HS (LTLE-HS) and 26 patients with right-sided TLE-HS (RTLE-HS). In addition, 28 healthy controls underwent high-resolution T2-weighted image (T2WI) and T1-weighted image (T1WI) MRI scanning. Subfield analysis of HC and AMG was performed using FreeSurfer version 6.0. Results: Patients with TLE-HS showed a decrease in the volume of substructures in both HC and AMG, and this change was observed on the contralateral side and the ipsilateral side with HS. The volume reduction pattern of substructures showed laterality-dependent characteristics. Patients with LTLE-HS had smaller volumes of the ipsilateral subiculum (SUB), contralateral SUB, and ipsilateral cortical nucleus of AMG than patients with RTLE-HS. Patients with RTLE-HS had reduced ipsilateral cornu ammonis (CA) 2/3 and contralateral cortico-amygdaloid transition area (CAT) volumes. The relationship between clinical variables and subregions was different based on the lateralization of the seizure focus. Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FTBTCS) was associated with contralateral and ipsilateral side subregions only in LTLE-HS. The abdominal FAS was associated with the volume reduction of AMG subregions only in LTLE-HS, but the volume reduction was less than in patients without FAS. Conclusions: The results indicate that unilateral TLE-HS is a bilateral disease that shows different laterality-dependent characteristics based on the subfield analysis of HC and AMG. Subfield volumes of HC and AMG were associated with clinical variables, and the more damaged substructures depended on laterality in TLE-HS. These findings support the evidence that LTLE-HS and RTLE-HS are disparate epilepsy entities rather than simply identical syndromes harboring a mesial temporal lesion. In addition, the presence of FAS supports good localization value, and abdominal FAS has a high localization value, especially in patients with LTLE-HS.

Seizure semiology, localization, and the 2017 ILAE seizure classification

In the study of epilepsy, the term semiology is used to comprise the clinical characteristics of a seizure, both subjective symptoms and objective phenomena. It is produced by activation of the symptomagenic zone, and an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the localizing value of seizure semiology is crucial for presurgical evaluation and planning. Myriad publications in epilepsy journals detail correlations between various semiological features and activation of specific cortical regions. Traditionally these studies involved scalp EEG recorded in epilepsy monitoring units. The increasing use of invasive monitoring, and specifically the use of depth electrodes and stereo-electroencephalography, has advanced our understanding of the characteristics of seizures arising from ictal foci deep to the scalp, including the cingulate, insula and operculum. However, the distinction between seizure onset and symptomogenic zones is not always clear. In 2017 the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) published an operational classification of seizure types based heavily on seizure semiology. The current paper provides an updated review of the current body of knowledge relating to seizure semiology, incorporating both scalp EEG studies and more recent stereo-electroencephalography discoveries in the framework of the 2017 ILAE classification.

The Relationship between Aura and Postoperative Outcomes of Epilepsy Surgery in Patients with Mesial Temporal Sclerosis

BACKGROUND

We conducted a study to evaluate the relationship between aura types and postoperative outcomes in patients with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) to predict the prognosis of patients, accordingly.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 99 patients with MTS-temporal lobe epilepsy were enrolled based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The types of aura were evaluated, and the outcomes were categorized according to the Engel scale. Preoperative and postoperative results of patients were compared and analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis test.

RESULTS

About 73.7% of patients had seizure-free after their surgeries. The most of patients (n = 81) were in Class I of Evaluating Engel criteria. About 36.3% had not experienced any aura before their seizures, and among those with aura, the most prevalent aura was abdominal aura in 29 patients (29.3%) followed by other types of aura and affective aura. Most of the patients in Class I, II, III, and IV of Engel scale had an abdominal aura, without aura, effective aura, and abdominal aura, respectively, but this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.691).

CONCLUSION

According to this study, the type of aura cannot predict postoperative outcomes in MTS patients. More studies are needed to evaluate this relation in better-planned studies with greater sample size.

Remote preoperative tonic-clonic seizures do not influence outcome after surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy

OBJECTIVES

Tonic-clonic seizures are associated with greater chance of seizure relapse after anterior temporal lobectomy. We investigated whether the interval between the last preoperative tonic-clonic seizure and surgery relates to seizure outcome in patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).

METHODS

In this retrospective study, patients were prospectively registered in a database from 1986 through 2014. Postsurgical outcome was categorized as seizure freedom or relapse. The relationship between surgical outcome and the interval between the last preoperative tonic-clonic seizure and surgery was investigated.

RESULTS

One-hundred seventy-one patients were studied. Seventy nine (46.2%) patients experienced tonic-clonic seizures before surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve of timing of the last preoperative tonic-clonic seizure was a moderate indicator to anticipate surgery failure (area under the curve: 0.657, significance; 0.016). The best cutoff that maximizes sensitivity and specificity was 27months; with a sensitivity of 0.76 and specificity of 0.60. Cox-Mantel analysis confirmed that the chance of becoming free of seizures after surgery in patients with no or remote history of preoperative tonic-clonic seizures was significantly higher compared with patients with a recent history (i.e., in 27months before surgery) (p=0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The more remote the occurrence of preoperative tonic-clonic seizures, the better the postsurgical seizure outcome, with at least a two year gap being more favorable. A recent history of tonic-clonic seizures in a patient with MTLE may reflect more widespread epileptogenicity extending beyond the borders of mesial temporal structures.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy presenting with rising epigastric sensation as the only clinical symptom: a case report

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy is generally manifested as central nervous system disorder, emotional disturbances, and visceral discomfort. We present the case of an elderly male patient with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy presenting with rising epigastric sensation as the only manifestation. A 60-year-old male patient who had been regularly suffering from episodic epigastric sensations three to seven times every day was admitted to our hospital. 'Rising air' initiated from epigastria, ascending to his chest, and terminated in the throat. Brain MRI showed sclerosis of the right hippocampus and enlargement of the right temporal horn. Video electroencephalography showed that the seizure was associated with a high-amplitude spike and slow wave, originating from the right anterior temporal region and extending to the leads in the right hemisphere. Extensive gastrointestinal and cardiothoracic investigations showed no abnormality, and so an underlying seizure disorder was suspected. The patient was prescribed a low dose of carbamazepine of 200 mg daily and was discharged the next day. A repeat video electroencephalography confirmed the satisfactory efficacy of the treatment. During the follow-up period of 22 months, there was no reappearance of epilepsy. Primary physicians, especially gastroenterologists, should be acquainted with the manifestations of simple partial seizures to avoid any dispensable medical examinations, even maltreatments.

Type of preoperative aura may predict postsurgical outcome in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and mesial temporal sclerosis

PURPOSE

As the initial symptoms of epileptic seizures, many types of auras have significant localizing or lateralizing value. In this study, we hypothesized that the type of aura may predict postsurgical outcome in patients with medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS).

METHODS

In this retrospective study, all patients with a clinical diagnosis of medically refractory TLE due to unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis who underwent epilepsy surgery at the Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center were recruited. Patients were prospectively registered in a database from 1986 through 2014. Postsurgical outcome was classified into two groups: seizure freedom or relapse. Outcome was compared between seven groups of patients according to their preoperative auras.

RESULTS

Two hundred thirty-seven patients were studied. The chance of becoming free of seizures after surgery in patients with abdominal aura was 65.1%, while in other patients, this was 43.3% (P=0.01). In two-by-two comparisons, no other significant differences were observed.

CONCLUSION

Patients with medically refractory TLE-MTS who reported abdominal auras preceding their seizures fared better postoperatively with regard to seizure control compared with those who did not report auras, which may indicate bitemporal dysfunction, and to patients with other auras, which may indicate a widespread epileptogenic zone in the latter group of patients.