The relevance of temporal lobe as epileptogenic zone and symptomatogenic zone in epilepsy associated to abnormal intracranial calcifications

THESES

THE RELEVANCE OF TEMPORAL LOBE AS EPILEPTOGENIC ZONE AND SYMPTOMATOGENIC ZONE IN EPILEPSY ASSOCIATED TO ABNORMAL INTRACRANIAL CALCIFICATIONS (ABSTRACT)^*. DISSERTATION. CURITIBA, 1998.

PEDRO ANDRÉ KOWACS ^*

To test the hypothesis that the temporal lobe is relevant in determining the clinical behavior of epilepsy associated to intracranial calcifications suggestive of neurocysticercosis, severity of epilepsy (Pazzaglia criteria, modified), seizure symptomatology, location and number of intracranial calcifications, and location of interictal EEG foci were compared between three groups of epileptic individuals.

Patients were serially selected at the outpatient clinic of the Hospital de Clínicas ¾ UFPR, at Curitiba, Brazil: a group of patients with epilepsy and intracranial calcifications, but without interictal EEG foci (group A, n=24); other with epilepsy, intracranial calcifications, and interictal EEG foci (group B, n=23); and a third group with epilepsy and interictal EEG foci, but without intracranial calcifications (group C, n=21).

EEG abnormalities located over the temporal lobe in 23 patients of group B, and in 23 patients of group C. While initial seizure symptoms presented by groups B and C patients were suggestive of those related to temporal lobe seizures in most cases, they related to somato-sensory cortex in most of group A patients. Epilepsy was more severe in groups B and C than in group A patients (p=0.0001 and 0.0054, respectively), but there was no difference in severity between groups B and C. Differences in severity could be attributed to the occurrence of high frequency partial seizures (group B) and secondarily generalized seizures (groups B and C). There was not a direct relationship between the number of calcifications and severity of epilepsy in groups A and B.

The study confirmed the hypothesis that in epilepsy associated to intracranial calcifications suggestive of neurocysticercosis, involvement of temporal lobe in the epileptogenic process is relevant in determining seizure symptoms and frequency, and severity of the epilepsy, irrespective to the number and location of intracerebral calcifications.

KEY WORDS: epilepsy, temporal lobe, intracranial calcifications, neurocysticercosis.

*

A relevância do lobo temporal como área irritativa e sintomatogênica na epilepsia associada a calcificações intracerebrais (Resumo). Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade Federal do Paraná ¾ UFPR (Área: Medicina Interna). Orientador: Lineu César Werneck.

**

Address: Rua Tenente João Gomes da Silva 140, 80810-100 Curitiba PR, Brasil.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  06 Nov 2000
• Date of issue
  Dec 1998