Bilateral hippocampal atrophy in temporal lobe epilepsy: effect of depressive symptoms and febrile seizures.

OBJECTIVE

Neuroimaging studies suggest a history of febrile seizures, and depression, are associated with hippocampal volume reductions in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).

METHODS

We used radial atrophy mapping (RAM), a three-dimensional (3D) surface modeling tool, to measure hippocampal atrophy in 40 patients with unilateral TLE, with or without a history of febrile seizures and symptoms of depression. Multiple linear regression was used to single out the effects of covariates on local atrophy.

RESULTS

Subjects with a history of febrile seizures (n =15) had atrophy in regions corresponding to the CA1 and CA3 subfields of the hippocampus contralateral to seizure focus (CHC) compared to those without a history of febrile seizures (n = 25). Subjects with Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) score ≥ 14 (n = 11) had atrophy in the superoanterior portion of the CHC compared to subjects with BDI-II <14 (n = 29).

CONCLUSIONS

Contralateral hippocampal atrophy in TLE may be related to febrile seizures or depression.