Abstract:
The patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) admitted in the Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from June 2009 to February 2012 were prospectively enrolled. The diffusion tensor imaing was performed on the patients at the time of enrollment and 3 years later. The fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the white matter connecting fibers(bilateral hooked, arcuate, cingulate, and superior longitudinal tracts), the connecting fibers of both hemispheres(anterior union, anterior callosal forceps, posterior forceps, and bilateral fornix), and fibers of perirhinal cortices system(bilateral radiating crown and anterior limb of the internal capsule) were measured by the region of interest method. The severity of epilepsy was evaluated using the Veterans Administration Seizure Type and Frequency Rating Scale(VA-2) and National Hospital Seizure Severity Scale (NHS3). A total of 51 patients with TLE were screened, with 27 patients completing the 3-year follow-up. There were 13 males and 14 females with an age of (32±11) years and a follow-up duration of (39.1±1.1) months. During the follow-up, 6 patients had increased/unchanged NHS3 or VA-2 scores, while 21 patients had decreased scores. Three years later, the FA values of the bilateral arcuate fasciculus, the right superior longitudinal fasciculus, the right radial coronal and corpus callosum anterior forceps in TLE patients decreased compared to baseline(P<0.05). However, compared to the patients with decreased VA-2 scores during the follow-up, the degree of increase in FA values (ΔFA, follow-up FA value-baseline FA value) of the ipsilateral hook bundle caused by epilepsy was more significant in the group with increased/unchanged VA-2 scores (decreased score group vs increased/unchanged score group:-0.032±0.063 vs 0.018±0.043, t=2.305, P=0.035). The value of ΔFA in epileptic patients with increased/unchanged NHS3 scores (0.075±0.113) was higher compared to those with decreased scores (-0.079±0.099, t=2.804, P=0.010). Correlation analysis also showed the changes in FA values of epileptic lateral fasciculus (r=0.503, P=0.009) and arcuate fasciculus (r=0.602, P=0.001)were positively correlated with the changes in VA-2 and HNS3 scores, respectively. The seizure severity in patients with TLE was closely associated with the microstructure changes in the frontal and temporal white matter, especially the arcuate and uncinate tracts, on the same side that caused seizures, which may indicate the white matter remodeling and abnormal network reformation associated with seizures.
前瞻性入组2009年6月至2012年2月在复旦大学附属中山医院神经内科就诊的颞叶癫痫患者,分别在入组时及3年后对患者进行弥散张量成像检查。通过感兴趣区法测定白质联络纤维(双侧钩束、弓状束、扣带束及上纵束)、两侧半球的连合纤维(前联合、胼胝体前钳、后钳及双侧穹窿)、嗅旁皮质系统纤维(双侧放射冠及内囊前肢)的部分各向异性(FA)值。采用退伍军人管理局癫痫发作类型和频率评定量表(VA-2)以及国立医院癫痫严重程度评分量表(NHS3)评估患者的癫痫严重程度。共筛查51例颞叶癫痫患者,其中27例完成3年随访。男13例,女14例,年龄(32±11)岁,随访时间(39.1±1.1)个月。3年随访期NHS3或VA-2评分增加/不变的患者各6例,NHS3或VA-2评分减少的患者各21例。3年后颞叶癫痫患者双侧弓状束、右侧上纵束、右侧放射冠、胼胝体前钳的FA值均较基线期下降(均P<0.05)。但在随访期与VA-2评分降低的患者相比,VA-2评分增高/不变组致痫同侧钩束FA值增加程度(ΔFA,随访期FA值-基线期FA值)更显著(评分降低组比增高/不变组:-0.032±0.063比0.018±0.043,t=2.305,P=0.035);在NHS3评分增高/无变化的癫痫患者致痫侧弓状束ΔFA值(0.075±0.113)高于评分降低的癫痫患者(-0.079±0.099,t=2.804,P=0.010)。相关性分析亦提示致痫侧钩束(r=0.503,P=0.009)及弓状束(r=0.602,P=0.001)FA值的变化分别与VA-2及HNS3评分的改变呈正相关。颞叶癫痫患者发作的严重程度与致痫同侧额颞白质,尤其弓状束、钩束的微结构改变密切相关,可能提示了癫痫发作相关的白质重塑、异常网络形成。.