Study finds connections in the brain linked to seizures in epilepsy patients

London [UK]April 17 (ANI): A network of connections in the brain associated with seizures in patients with epilepsy has been discovered by researchers at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.

For those whose epilepsy cannot be controlled by medicine, the researchers hope their findings, published in Brain, will help redesign neurological treatments. By blocking specific frontal lobe pathways, patients may experience sustained respite from seizures.

There are 500,000 people with epilepsy in the UK and 50 million people worldwide with epilepsy. However, one in three of them cannot control their epilepsy with medication.

Neurosurgery may be curative for patients in whom the cause of epilepsy can be determined. However, currently only about 30% of patients are long-term seizure-free in the frontal lobe.

The team analyzed MRI scans of 47 patients who underwent frontal lobe surgery for epilepsy several years ago.

They suggest that when the neural pathways in the brain that connect the frontal lobe to the deep brain structures (the thalamus and striatum, which are involved in relaying sensory and motor signals, motor control, emotion and reward) are cut, patients may experience more prolonged seizures. – 88% of patients were seizure-free after 3 years and 80% after 5 years compared to the typical outcome of epilepsy treatment neurosurgery in the frontal lobe (30%) seizures have disappeared.

In addition to preventing future seizure recurrences, researchers found that disconnecting had no adverse effects on language or executive function.

Davide Giampiccolo, lead author and neurosurgeon, UCL Queen Square Neurological Institute and Cleveland Clinic London, said: Surgery, and until now it was not clear why this happens.

“We now believe that this may be related to the connections in the brain that form the network that causes epileptic seizures. If this is correct, then surgically disconnecting this frontal lobe network could lead to seizures years later.” We can prevent it from recurring.” This will allow us to redesign neurosurgery and personalize surgery for each patient, ensuring that the right connections are cut. “We hope that this will lead to significant improvements in long-term outcomes,” said Tom Shillito, manager of health improvement and research Epilepsy Action. If so, the decision to undergo this invasive surgery can be very difficult.

“We are pleased that these new findings have resulted in improved seizure-free outcomes for people in the long term, and this is a promising development for people with drug-resistant epilepsy. We hope to help many people with epilepsy achieve more: they can make informed and confident decisions about their future treatments.

“I look forward to seeing how this treatment develops. Hopefully, it can give more hope for epileptic patients to gain greater seizure freedom.”