Hippocampal cell loss in posttraumatic human epilepsy.

Purpose: We performed this study to determine whether significant head trauma in human adults can result in hippocampal cell loss, particularly in hilar (polymorph) and CA3 neurons, similar to that observed in animal models of traumatic brain injury. We examined the incidence of hippocampal pathology and its relation to temporal neocortical pathology, neuronal reorganization, and other variables.

Methods: Twenty-one of 200 sequential temporal lobectomies had only trauma as a risk factor for epilepsy.