OBJECTIVE: There was more than a 10-fold increase in the incidence of narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) after the H1N1 mass vaccination in 2009/2010 in several countries. NT1 is associated with loss and increase of cell groups in the hypothalamus which may be associated with secondary affected sub-cortical and cortical gray matter. We performed a case-control comparison of MRI-based global and sub-cortical volume and cortical thickness in post-H1N1 NT1 patients compared with controls.
METHODS: We included 54 post-H1N1 NT1 patients (51 with confirmed hypocretin-deficiency; 48 H1N1-vaccinated with Pandemrix®; 39 females, mean age 21.8 ± 11.0 years) and 114 healthy controls (77 females, mean age 23.2 ± 9.0 years). 3T MRI brain scans were obtained, and the T1-weighted MRI data were processed using FreeSurfer. Group differences among three global, 10 sub-cortical volume measures and 34 cortical thickness measures for bilateral brain regions were tested using general linear models with permutation testing.
RESULTS: Patients had significantly thinner brain cortex bilaterally in the temporal poles (Cohen\'s d = 0.68, p = 0.00080), entorhinal cortex (d = 0.60, p = 0.0018) and superior temporal gyrus (d = 0.60, p = 0.0020) compared to healthy controls. The analysis revealed no significant group differences for sub-cortical volumes.
CONCLUSIONS: Post-H1N1(largely Pandemrix®-vaccinated) NT1 patients have significantly thinner cortex in temporal brain regions compared to controls. We speculate that this effect can be partly attributed to the hypothalamic neuronal change in NT1, including loss of function of the widely projecting hypocretin-producing neurons and secondary effects of the abnormal sleep-wake pattern in NT1 or could be specific for post-H1N1 (largely Pandemrix®-vaccinated) NT1 patients.

BACKGROUND: In classic speech network models, the primary auditory cortex is the source of auditory input to Wernicke\'s area in the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG). Because resection of the primary auditory cortex in the dominant hemisphere removes inputs to the pSTG, there is a risk of speech impairment. However, recent research has shown the existence of other, nonprimary auditory cortex inputs to the pSTG, potentially reducing the risk of primary auditory cortex resection in the dominant hemisphere.
METHODS: Here, the authors present a clinical case of a woman with severe medically refractory epilepsy with a lesional epileptic focus in the left (dominant) Heschl\'s gyrus. Analysis of neural responses to speech stimuli was consistent with primary auditory cortex localization to Heschl\'s gyrus. Although the primary auditory cortex was within the proposed resection margins, she underwent lesionectomy with total resection of Heschl\'s gyrus. Postoperatively, she had no speech deficits and her seizures were fully controlled.
CONCLUSIONS: While resection of the dominant hemisphere Heschl\'s gyrus/primary auditory cortex warrants caution, this case illustrates the ability to resect the primary auditory cortex without speech impairment and supports recent models of multiple parallel inputs to the pSTG.

Familial lateral temporal lobe epilepsy (FLTLE) is genetic focal epilepsy usually characterised by auditory symptoms. Most FLTLE cases can be controlled by anti-seizure medications, and to our best knowledge, there are no previous reports about stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) used for patients with FLTLE. In this report, we present two patients with FLTLE in one family and their SEEG performances, together with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET and MRI results. In case 1, fast activities originated from the right superior temporal gyrus and spread rapidly to the right anterior insular lobe and hippocampus. In case 2, there were two seizure patterns: (1) The fast activities or sharp slow waves were identified at the left superior temporal gyrus, then, sharp waves and spike waves spread in the left superior temporal gyrus; (2) There were fast activities and slow-wave oscillation originated in the left superior temporal gyrus, then, the fast activities spread in the left superior temporal gyrus and finally spread to the other sites. An SEEG-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation was performed for both patients and one of them underwent resection surgery. Seizures are well-controlled and the patients are very satisfied with the therapeutic effects.