Comparison between the results of the Symptom Checklist-90 in two different populations with temporal lobe epilepsy

We performed a prospective psychopathological analysis of two distinct populations with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), medically treated patients (n=18) and patients surgically treated for mesial temporal sclerosis (n=19), and compared the psychopathology in the surgical population pre- and postoperatively. The Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) was administered to both groups, with the surgical patients being tested before and 6 months after surgery. A multivariant comparison of the SCL-90 subscales was made between medically treated patients and patients before and after surgical treatment. Surgically treated patients had less psychopathology after surgery than before. The comparison of surgically treated patients with medically treated patients showed statistically significant differences in most subscales. Except for the subscale of Hostility, no statistically significant differences were found between medically treated patients and the surgical population before lobectomy.