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History of simple febrile seizures is associated with hippocampal abnormalities in adults
Author(s) -
Auer Tibor,
Barsi Peter,
Bone Beata,
Angyalosi Anna,
Aradi Mihaly,
Szalay Csaba,
Horvath Reka A.,
Kovacs Norbert,
Kotek Gyula,
Fogarasi Andras,
Komoly Samuel,
Janszky Imre,
Schwarcz Attila,
Janszky József
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2008.01679.x
Subject(s) - hippocampal formation , epilepsy , clinical neurology , neuroscience , febrile convulsions , medicine , psychology , pediatrics
SummaryBackground: It is unclear whether the hippocampal abnormality in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a consequence or the cause of afebrile or febrile seizures (FSs). We investigated whether hippocampal abnormalities are present in healthy adults>15 years after a simple FS.Methods: Eight healthy subjects (5 men) with a history of simple FS (FS+ group) and eight sex‐ and aged‐matched control subjects (FS– group) were investigated by three MR methods: blinded visual inspection of the MRI pictures; automatic voxel‐based volumetry; and T2 relaxation time measurements.Results: The mean total volume of the two hippocampi was 5.36 ± 1.33 cm3in the FS+ group and 6.63 ± 1.46 cm3in the FS– group (p = 0.069). The T2 values in the anterior part of the left hippocampus (p = 0.036) and in the middle part of the right hippocampus (p = 0.025) were elevated in the FS+ subjects. The mean volume of the right hippocampus was 3.05 ± 0.8 cm3in the FS+ men and 4.05 ± 0.48 cm3in the FS– men (p = 0.043). The mean total volume of the two hippocampi was 5.38 ± 1.4 cm3in the FS+ men and 7.48 ± 1.14 cm3in the FS– men (p = 0.043). There were three FS+ men in whom hippocampal abnormalities including hippocampal sclerosis (HS) and dysgenesis were observed on visual inspection.Conclusions: A history of simple FS in childhood can be associated with hippocampal abnormalities in adults. These abnormalities are probably more pronounced in men. Simple FS may not be as a benign event as previously thought. Our findings suggest that hippocampal abnormalities associated with FS are not necessarily epileptogenic.