Bitemporal intractable epilepsy: could it be surgically treatable?

Background: The goal of this study is to retrieve the attention to the treatment opportunities for this cohort of intractable bitemporal epilepsy patients who in most cases are not considered optimal candidates for surgery.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that electrophysiologically guided precise surgeries on both temporal lobes can have a beneficial effect on seizures without additional cognitive decline.

Methods: Twenty-one intractable bitemporal epilepsy patients [13 men, 8 women, mean age 21 years (range 6-43), mean duration of illness 17 years (range 3-31), frequency of seizures 6-55 per month] underwent stereotactic cryosurgery on both temporal lobes guided by chronic and intraoperative depth electrode studies.

Electrophysiological effects and clinical results of direct brain stimulation for intractable epilepsy.

Objective: Epilepsy can be considered as a result of the imbalance of the excitatory and inhibitory processes. Therefore, the artificial enhancement of the activity of brain inhibitory mechanisms might lead to a beneficial therapeutic effect for intractable epilepsy patients.

Material And Methods: Studies of the inhibitory effects of electrical stimulation of the head of the caudate nucleus (HCN), cerebellar dentate nucleus (CDN), thalamic centromedian nucleus (CM), and neocortical and temporal lobe mesiobasal epileptic foci were performed on 150 patients with implanted intracerebral electrodes.