[Mnesic disorders caused by left temporal gliomas]

Episodic memory disorders are frequent in patients with temporal lesion. Verbal or visuo-spatial memory disorders depend on the location and the lateralization of the lesion. These disorders are well described in temporal epilepsy but rarely in population with cerebral tumor and especially not specifically focus on temporal glioma. The purpose of this study was to describe neuropsychological examination in patient with temporal glioma in the database of the regional memory centre of Besançon. Four patients were identified (all right-handed and with a left temporal glioma). Verbal episodic memory impairment and auditory-verbal short-term memory impairment were observed. One patient had also visual memory disorders. Therefore, further investigations showed an associated Alzheimer's disease. This finding modified the clinical management of this patient. Extensive neuropsychological assessment should be systematic initially to seek an associated pathology, especially in elderly patients, if the cognitive profile is unusual, during the follow-up to better understand cognitive evolution and the effect of therapies on cognition.