Epileptic patients have abnormal connections in their brains that could provide clues towards diagnosis and treatment, says study published in Radiology.
Temporal lobe epilepsy is characterized by seizures emanating from the temporal lobes, which sit on each side of the brain just above the ear. Previously, experts believed that the condition was related to isolated injuries of structures within the temporal lobe, like the hippocampus. But recent research has implicated the default mode network (DMN), the set of brain regions activated during task-free introspection and deactivated during goal-directed behavior. The DMN consists of several hubs that are more active during the resting state.
Epilepsy
Fits or convulsions or Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent, involuntary seizures and is described as a chronic neurological disorder
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To learn more, researchers performed diffusion tensor imaging, a type of MRI that tracks the movement, or diffusion, of water in the brain's white matter, the nerve fibers that transmit signals throughout the brain. The study group consisted of 24 patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy who were slated for surgery to remove the site from where their seizures emanated. The researchers compared them with 24 healthy controls using an MRI protocol dedicated to finding white matter tracts with diffusion imaging at high resolution. The data was analyzed with a new technique that identifies and quantifies structural connections in the brain.
Patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy exhibited a decrease in long-range connectivity of 22 percent to 45 percent among areas of the DMN when compared with the healthy controls.
![Quiz on Fits]( "Quiz on Fits")
Fits or Seizures could happen due to a number of reasons. Not all fits qualify to being labeled as epilepsy. Fits manifest in various forms. Test your knowledge on fits by taking this quiz.
"Using diffusion MRI, we found alterations in the structural connectivity beyond the medial temporal lobe, especially in the default mode network," said Steven M. Stufflebeam, M.D., from the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
In addition to reduced long-range connectivity, the epileptic patients had an 85 percent to 270 percent increase in local connectivity within and beyond the DMN. The researchers believe this may be an adaptation to the loss of the long-range connections.
"The increase in local connections could represent a maladaptive mechanism by which overall neural connectivity is maintained despite the loss of connections through important hub areas," Dr. Stufflebeam said.
The results are supported by prior functional MRI studies that have shown decreased functional connectivity in DMN areas in temporal lobe epilepsy. Researchers are not certain if the structural changes cause the functional changes, or vice versa.
"It's probably a breakdown of myelin, which is the insulation of neurons, causing a slowdown in the propagation of information, but we don't know for sure," Dr. Stufflebeam said.
Dr. Stufflebeam and colleagues plan to continue their research, using structural and functional MRI with electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography to track diffusion changes and look at real-time brain activity.
"Our long-term goal is to see if we can we predict from diffusion studies who will respond to surgery and who will not," he said.
Source: Eurekalert
Quiz on Fits
Fits or Seizures could happen due to a number of reasons. Not all fits qualify to being labeled as epilepsy. Fits manifest in various forms. Test your knowledge on fits by taking this quiz.
Advertisement
"Using diffusion MRI, we found alterations in the structural connectivity beyond the medial temporal lobe, especially in the default mode network," said Steven M. Stufflebeam, M.D., from the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
In addition to reduced long-range connectivity, the epileptic patients had an 85 percent to 270 percent increase in local connectivity within and beyond the DMN. The researchers believe this may be an adaptation to the loss of the long-range connections.
"The increase in local connections could represent a maladaptive mechanism by which overall neural connectivity is maintained despite the loss of connections through important hub areas," Dr. Stufflebeam said.
The results are supported by prior functional MRI studies that have shown decreased functional connectivity in DMN areas in temporal lobe epilepsy. Researchers are not certain if the structural changes cause the functional changes, or vice versa.
"It's probably a breakdown of myelin, which is the insulation of neurons, causing a slowdown in the propagation of information, but we don't know for sure," Dr. Stufflebeam said.
Dr. Stufflebeam and colleagues plan to continue their research, using structural and functional MRI with electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography to track diffusion changes and look at real-time brain activity.
"Our long-term goal is to see if we can we predict from diffusion studies who will respond to surgery and who will not," he said.
Source: Eurekalert
Device That can Help Predict Seizures in Epilepsy Patients Takes a Step Closer to Reality
A new study reports on the development of a new software by American researchers that can help predict when an epilepsy patient may suffer from a seizure.
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 Brain Connectivity Can Predict Epilepsy Surgery Outcomes: ResearchA discovery from the researchers of Case Western Reserve and Cleveland Clinic could provide epilepsy patients invaluable advance guidance about their chances to improve symptoms through surgery. | Advertisement
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