A network of connections in the brain is connected to seizures in people with epileptic was found by researchers from the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. For people with epilepsy that cannot be controlled with medication, the researchers hope that their findings, published in the journal Brain, could aid in the redesign of neural processes. Patients can experience extended periods of rest from convulsion by severing specific frontal lobe pathways.
There are 500,000 people in the UK with epilepsy, and 50 million people have it worldwide. But one in three people cannot control their epilepsy with medication. For patients for whom the source of the seizures can be pinpointed, neurosurgery may be curative. Currently, however, only about 30% of patients do not experience long-term seizures in the frontal lobe. The team analyzed magnetic resonance images of 47 patients who had undergone frontal lobe surgery for epilepsy many years earlier.
They found that the patients had longer seizure freedom when neural pathways in the brain linked the frontal lobes to deep brain structures (the thalamus and striatum, which are responsible for relaying sensory signals). sensory and motor control, motor control, emotion, and reward) is disconnected – with 88% of patients seizure-free at three years and 80% seizure-free at five years, compared with typical outcomes of surgery. Neurosurgery for epilepsy (30%) in the frontal lobe.
Besides preventing the recurrence of future seizures, the researchers found that severing connections did not have any negative effects on language or executive function. Lead author and neurosurgeon, Davide Giampiccolo (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and Cleveland Clinic in London), said: “Neurosurgery can be very effective for people with dynamic disease. However, in some patients, seizures recur many years after surgery and until now it is not clear why this happens.
“We now think this may be related to the connections in the brain that form a network that causes seizures. If this is correct, surgical resection of this frontal lobe network could prevent recurrent seizures years later.” “This will allow us to redesign neurosurgery operations and personalize operations for each patient, ensuring that the right connections are excised,” said Mr. Giampiccolo. Hopefully this will lead to a major improvement in the long-term outcome of epilepsy surgery.”
Tom Shillito, Director of Health Improvement and Research, Epilepsy Action, said: “Neurosurgery can be a really effective treatment for many people facing the challenges of epilepsy These can have a huge and often debilitating impact on many aspects of life, from education. However, only a small number of people do not have a seizure for a long time after. brain surgery, the decision to perform this invasive surgery can be an extremely difficult decision to make.
“It’s exciting that these new findings have shown improved results in keeping people free of seizures long-term, and this is a promising development for people with drug-resistant epilepsy. I hope this can help empower more people with epilepsy.” We look forward to seeing how this treatment develops, which will hopefully give people with epilepsy more more hope in getting rid of more seizures.”
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