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Age at onset of epilepsy is an important predictor of deterioration in naming ability following epilepsy surgery. In 141 patients with left hemispheric epilepsy and language dominance who received epilepsy surgery at the Epilepsy Centre Erlangen, naming of objects (Boston naming test, BNT) was assessed preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Surgical lesions were plotted on postoperative MRI and normalized for statistical analysis using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VBLSM). The correlation between lesion and presence of postoperative naming deterioration was examined varying the considered age range of epilepsy onsets. The VBLSM analysis showed that volumes of cortex areas in the left temporal lobe, which were associated with postoperative decline of naming, increased with each year of later epilepsy onset. In patients with later onset, an increasing left posterior temporobasal area was significantly associated with a postoperative deficit when included in the resection. For late epilepsy onset, the temporomesial expansion also included the left hippocampus. The results underline that early onset of epilepsy is a good prognostic factor for unchanged postoperative naming ability following epilepsy surgery. For later age of epilepsy onset, the extent of the area at risk of postoperative naming deficit at 6 months after surgery included an increasing left temporobasal area which finally also comprised the hippocampus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of seizures is increasingly recognized, and the evaluation of potential biochemical markers of inflammatory processes in seizures and status epilepticus (SE), such as C‐reactive protein (CRP), has gained attention. The present study assessed the first CRP level obtained in an SE episode regarding its value for SE outcome prediction. Among 362 admissions for SE during the study period, 231 episodes satisfied the inclusion criteria. Higher initial CRP concentrations were independently associated with in‐hospital mortality and poor functional outcome at discharge in logistic regression models adjusting for SE severity, severity of SE etiology, and development of treatment refractoriness. Therefore, initial CRP levels may add to the prediction of SE prognosis. The pathomechanisms through which CRP is linked with the prognosis of SE, however, remain to be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]