A WORLDWIDE ENIGMA STUDY ON EPILEPSY-RELATED GRAY AND WHITE MATTER COMPROMISE ACROSS THE ADULT LIFESPAN

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Epilepsy Research
• Lifespan Studies

Background:

• Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) involves mesiotemporal pathology and widespread structural changes.
• The progressive nature and lifespan evolution of TLE-related alterations remain poorly defined.

Approach:

• Utilized multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 769 TLE patients and 885 controls (ages 17-73).
• Employed harmonized data, median split assessments, and cross-sectional sliding window analyses to evaluate age-related changes.
• Investigated covariance between grey and white matter lifespan trajectories.

Key Points:

• TLE is associated with significant grey matter thinning/volume loss and white matter tract alterations, extending beyond the mesiotemporal region.
• Age-related changes in TLE accelerate after 55 years, affecting cortical thickness, subcortical volume, fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity.
• Limbic associations were observed between white matter tracts, subcortical structures, and cortical regions in TLE patients.

Conclusions:

• TLE profoundly impacts lifespan structural brain changes, accelerating aging processes in later life.
• Findings underscore the need for prompt TLE diagnosis and intervention.
• Motivates future longitudinal research on TLE across the lifespan.