MRI segmentation in the diagnosis and clinical correlations of temporal lobe epilepsy / 中华放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the different patterns of hippocampal atrophy by MRI segmental analysis and to investigate the etiology and pathogenesis of temporal lobe epilepsy Methods GE 1 5 T Signa Horizon LX MRI scanner was used Oblique coronal T 1 weighted images perpendicular to the long axis of the hippocampus were obtained The mesial temporal structures were divided into four parts the amygdala, hippocampal head, body and tail MRI patterns of atrophy in 50 patients with histologically confirmed hippocampal sclerosis were investigated by MRI volumetric measurement and segmental analysis, and the differences of clinical features and surgical outcome in different groups were compared Results Diffuse hippocampal atrophy was found in 22 of 50 patients (44%), 5 of the 50 patients (10%) showed diffuse atrophy involving both the amygdala and hippocampus 20 of the 50 patients (40%) had hippocampal focal atrophy and 8 of 50 patients (16%) had no obvious atrophy 38 of 50 (76%) hippocampal sclerosis had atrophy in the hippocampal body, 29 of 50 (58%) had hippocampal head atrophy, 24 of 50 (48%) had hippocampal tail atrophy, and the least involved part was the amygdala (16%, 8/50) 10 patients who had normal hippocampal volume showed focal hippocampal atrophy by segmental analysis Various patterns of hippocampal atrophy were found to be statistically related to the duration of epilepsy, the frequency of seizure and the outcome of surgery, respectively ( P 0 05) Conclusion MRI segmental analysis can improve the diagnostic sensitivity of temporal lobe epilepsy and help to investigate its etiology and pathogenesis