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Behavioral Characterization of Pentylenetetrazole-induced Seizures: Moving Beyond the Racine Scale
Published on: July 8, 2025
Morphological characteristics of brain tumors causing seizures
Jong Woo Lee1, Patrick Y Wen, Shelley Hurwitz
1Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jlee38@partners.org
Archives of Neurology
|March 10, 2010
Summary
Tumor size and location impact seizure presentation differently based on glioma grade. High-grade gliomas with seizures were smaller, while low-grade gliomas with seizures were larger, with specific locations correlating to symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Neuro-oncology
- Radiology
- Neurosurgery
Background:
- Seizures are a common presenting symptom in patients with brain tumors.
- Understanding the relationship between tumor characteristics and seizure presentation is crucial for diagnosis and treatment planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differences in size and location of supratentorial glial tumors between patients presenting with seizures and those presenting with other neurological symptoms.
- To correlate tumor grade with these size and location differences.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 124 patients with newly diagnosed supratentorial glial tumors.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based morphometric analysis and nonparametric mapping were employed.
- Tumor size and location were compared between patients with and without seizures.
Main Results:
- High-grade gliomas presenting with seizures were smaller than those without seizures.
- Low-grade gliomas presenting with seizures were larger than those without seizures.
- Specific locations were associated with seizure presentation: deep-seated, pericallosal tumors in high-grade gliomas and temporal lobe/insular tumors in low-grade gliomas.
Conclusions:
- Tumor size and location influence seizure propensity, varying by glioma grade.
- High-grade gliomas with non-seizure symptoms are often rapidly growing and deep-seated.
- Low-grade gliomas can grow large in the temporal lobe or insula before causing seizures, suggesting these areas are less susceptible to early seizure induction.
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