Abstract:
Background. Recurrent myoclonic seizures are associated with morphological changes in brain regions, engaging cortical as well as
subcortical structures. The purpose of this study was to characterize the abnormalities of brain structural integrity in epilepsy patients with
myoclonic seizures.
Material and methods. Surface-based morphometry was applied to process the 3T brain magnetic resonance images acquired in 11 epilepsy
patients (mean age ± standard deviation: 24 ± 6 years; 3 males) with myoclonic seizures and 11 healthy controls (28 ± 4 years; 6 males) and
quantify the cortex thickness and subcortical volumes.
Results. Patients with myoclonic seizures in contrast to healthy controls showed significant cortical thickness alterations in left postcentral,
and bilateral rostral middle frontal and supramarginal cortices (p < 0.001, uncorrected). Cortical thickness correlated with patients‘ disease
duration in left superior, middle and inferior temporal, and inferior parietal and right supramarginal, inferior parietal and rostral anterior
cingulate cortices. Volumetric analysis of subcortical structures disclosed significantly lower (p = 0.014, p = 0.001) thalamic volumes (right
7078.5 ± 508.7 / left 7804.1 ± 737.4 mm3
) in patients compared to healthy controls (right 8155.9 ± 702.1/left 9168.1 ± 1442.5 mm3
).
Conclusions. These findings evidence clear widespread abnormalities of brain structural integrity linked to myoclonic seizures and represent
the neuroanatomical fingerprints that potentially underlie the generation of this seizure type.
Description:
Laboratory of Neurobiology and Medical Genetics, Nicolae Testemitsanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Neurology, Institute of Emergency Medicine, Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Disease and Epilepsy, Institute of Emergency Medicine, Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova, The IVth Congress of Radiology and Medical Imaging of the Republic of Moldova with international participation, Chisinau, May 31 – June 2, 2018