Cognitive outcome after stereo-electroencephalography-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG)-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFTC) is being used incrementally in the invasive diagnosis of epilepsy. There is currently a lack of information regarding the potential cognitive consequences of the extended use of this technique. This work describes, for the first time, the cognitive outcomes after RFTC in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), evaluated longitudinally and using a control group.

Methods: Forty-eight adult patients with drug-resistant unilateral TLE (30 RFTC-treated patients and 18 controls) were evaluated using a comprehensive neuropsychological protocol at baseline. In the RFTC group, two follow-up assessments were performed at 3 months and 1 year. The control group was reevaluated after 1 year. Two analyses were performed: 1) group-level analyses, in which linear mixed models were applied according to TLE lateralization (intragroup and intergroup [RFTC vs control] comparisons), and 2) individual-level analyses, in which the Reliable Change Index (RCI) algorithm was developed and a 90% CI (cutoff ± 1.64) was used to describe neuropsychological outcomes at 1 year post-RFTC. A memory subanalysis was performed in hippocampal RFTC patients (25/30). A Spearman coefficient study was conducted to determine the correlation between cognitive change and thermocoagulated contacts.

Results: Left- and right-sided TLE patients treated with RFTC showed cognitive preservation at baseline. At a group level, the short-term evaluation, including verbal and visual memory, language, and executive functions, showed preservation in these domains and no significant differences compared with baseline. In the long-term follow-up assessment (1 year after RFTC), no significant intragroup changes were found, nor were significant changes found in comparison with the control group. The RCI algorithm showed that significant individual cognitive losses and gains were infrequent. Three patients presented with naming deficits, only 1 (3.3%) of whom showed a clinically significant deficit. Significant gains were more prevalent in executive function tests with a speed component (4/20 left-sided RFTC patients). Twenty-five of the 30 (83%) patients were treated with hippocampal RFTC. No patients experienced significant loss in verbal delayed memory in the left-sided RFTC sample or in visual delayed memory in the right-sided RFTC sample. The correlations between cognitive change and RFTC contacts were mostly nonsignificant.

Conclusions: In the group-level comparisons, discernible cognitive impairment following RFTC was not evidenced. The majority of patients did not exhibit significant individual declines during the 1-year follow-up period. Notably, the procedural intervention yielded no substantial repercussions on memory functioning following hippocampal RFTC. These findings underscore the evidence supporting the cognitive preservation associated with SEEG-guided RFTC.