Hypothalamic hamartomas are associated with precocious puberty and gelastic epilepsy. The seizures are often refractory to antiepileptic medications. The treatment of hamartoma is not well established. We report a 3-year-6-month-old boy was admitted because of intractable seizures occurring several times a day. The findings on magnetic resonance imaging and his characteristic seizure led to the diagnosis of hypothalamic hamartoma. The seizures were resistant to multiple antiepileptic drugs, and persisted for about 3 years, during which his cognition deteriorated. Focal radiosurgery by a gamma knife of the hamartoma successfully controlled the seizures with no neurological complications, and his mental function improved.
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Epilepsia
March 2025
Department of Physiology, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan.
Objective: Clinical investigators have hypothesized that interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) generated by hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) lead to cognitive dysfunction in patients with drug-resistant gelastic seizures. Herein we provide causal evidence supporting this hypothesis by demonstrating that excitatory neural bursts, when propagating from the HH to the mediodorsal thalamus during the encoding period, impair working memory.
Methods: By employing channelrhodopsin-2 photostimulation, we induced excessive neural excitation in Long-Evans rats, resembling IEDs, at the axon terminals of the lateral hypothalamus projecting toward the mediodorsal thalamus and prelimbic cortex.
Asian J Neurosurg
March 2025
Department of Anesthesia, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
Endoscopic epilepsy surgery is a fast emerging minimally invasive alternative to open surgery. The approach minimizes the extent of bone and brain resection and reduces surgical morbidity. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to evaluate the favorable outcome of seizure improvement in patients undergoing endoscopic epilepsy surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurosurg Case Lessons
March 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Wellstar-Medical College of Georgia Health, Augusta, Georgia.
Background: Hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) is a nonneoplastic tumor associated with precocious puberty and gelastic seizures, characterized by uncontrolled, inappropriate laughter. Successful treatment can resolve symptoms, but medications are often ineffective, and surgical treatment is complicated by the deep brain location. Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) has been shown to be a safe alternative, but it has been suggested that it may not be suitable for larger lesions due to the increased risk of postoperative perilesional edema.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpileptic Disord
March 2025
Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
We performed a systematic review of the localization value of ictal mimic automatisms-including gelastic, dacrystic, fearful, ritualistic, and kissing semiology-in focal epilepsy. We performed a comprehensive literature search (Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, Scopus) for patient-level studies, following a PRISMA and QUADAS2 approach. Patients with focal epilepsy displaying mimic automatism, defined as "stereotyped mimicry or behavior that resembles the usual way one expresses oneself to reflect an affect and that is not accompanied by the corresponding emotion" were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomedicines
February 2025
Department of Medical-Surgical and Prophylactical Disciplines, Faculty of Medicine, "Titu Maiorescu" University, 031593 Bucharest, Romania.
Hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) are infrequent, non-neoplastic malformations of the hypothalamus with heterogeneous clinical features, with symptoms including gelastic seizures, central precocious puberty, and cognitive or behavioral deficits. This narrative review synthesizes current knowledge regarding the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic advances, and therapeutic approaches for HH. Genetic insights highlight the role of postzygotic mosaicism and dysregulated Sonic Hedgehog signaling in HH development, emphasizing their relevance in potential therapeutic strategies.
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