Structural abnormalities in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS)

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Pediatric Neurology
• Epilepsy Research

Background:

• Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS) is a common epilepsy syndrome in children.
• Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of BCECTS is crucial for effective management.
• Comorbidities like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are frequent in pediatric epilepsy and may influence brain structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cortical thickness and gray matter volume abnormalities in children with newly diagnosed BCECTS.
• To assess the impact of comorbid ADHD on these structural brain abnormalities in BCECTS.

Main Methods:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 20 children with BCECTS and 20 healthy controls were analyzed using FreeSurfer.
• Cortical thickness and gray matter volumes were compared between groups.
• A subgroup analysis compared BCECTS children with and without ADHD (n=8 each).

Main Results:

• Children with BCECTS exhibited significantly thicker cortices in the right superior frontal, superior temporal, middle temporal, and left pars triangularis regions.
• Increased gray matter volumes were observed in the right precuneus, left orbitofrontal cortex, pars orbitalis, precentral gyri, bilateral putamen, and amygdala in BCECTS patients compared to controls.
• BCECTS patients with ADHD showed thicker left caudal anterior and posterior cingulate gyri and larger left pars opercularis volumes compared to those without ADHD.

Conclusions:

• Structural brain abnormalities, specifically in corticostriatal circuitry, are present at the onset of BCECTS.
• Comorbid ADHD is associated with additional structural aberrations in children with BCECTS.
• These findings highlight the link between structural brain network disruptions and specific developmental electro-clinical epilepsy syndromes.