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Published on: August 11, 2019
Hippocampal volume in childhood complex partial seizures
Melita Daley1, Derek Ott, Rebecca Blanton
1UCLA Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Semel Institute, Rm. 48-253B, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1759, USA. mdaley@mednet.ucla.edu
Insights
Children with cryptogenic epilepsy (CPS) exhibit smaller hippocampal volumes, particularly in the anterior region, compared to healthy peers. Longer illness duration correlates with reduced total and posterior hippocampal volumes in these children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Neuroimaging
- Epilepsy Research
Background:
- Cryptogenic epilepsy (CPS) in children can impact brain development.
- The hippocampus is crucial for memory and is vulnerable to neurological conditions.
- Understanding hippocampal changes in pediatric CPS is vital for diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare hippocampal volumes in children with CPS versus healthy controls.
- To investigate the relationship between hippocampal volume and seizure characteristics in pediatric CPS.
- To control for IQ and demographic variables in the comparison.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used.
- Compared hippocampal volumes in 19 children with CPS (aged 6-14) and 21 age/gender-matched controls.
- Controlled for IQ and demographic factors.
Main Results:
- Children with CPS showed significantly smaller total hippocampal volumes than controls.
- This difference was primarily due to smaller anterior hippocampal volumes.
- In the CPS group, smaller total and posterior hippocampal volumes correlated with longer illness duration.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric CPS is associated with impaired hippocampal development, especially the anterior hippocampus.
- Seizure duration appears to differentially affect hippocampal development in pediatric CPS.
- Findings suggest a complex interplay between epilepsy, seizures, and hippocampal growth in children.
Purpose:
This study compared hippocampal volume in children with cryptogenic epilepsy, all of whom had complex partial seizures (CPS), and age and gender matched normal children controlling for between group differences in IQ and demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status). It also examined the relationship between hippocampal volumes and seizure variables in the patients.
Methods:
Using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we compared the hippocampal volumes of 19 medically treated children with CPS, aged 6-14 years, to 21 age and gender matched normal children.
Results:
The children with CPS had significantly smaller total hippocampal volumes than the normal children. This finding was accounted for primarily by significantly smaller anterior hippocampal volumes. Within the CPS group, smaller total and posterior hippocampus volumes were significantly associated with longer duration of illness. Anterior hippocampal volumes, however, were unrelated to seizure variables.
Conclusions:
These findings imply impaired development of the hippocampus, particularly the anterior hippocampus, and a differential effect of the underlying illness and on-going seizures on hippocampal development in medically controlled pediatric CPS.
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