Search

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]

Objective: Epilepsy is a common comorbidity of glioblastoma. Seizures may occur in various phases of the disease. We aimed to assess potential risk factors for seizures in accordance with the point in time at which they occurred. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed medical files of adult patients with de novo glioblastoma treated at our institution between January 2006 and January 2020. We categorized seizures as preoperative seizures (POS), early postoperative seizures (EPS; before initiation of radio[chemo]therapy [RCT]), seizures during radiotherapy (SDR; during or <30 days after RCT), and posttherapeutic seizures (PTS; ≥30 days after completion of RCT). We addressed associations between patients' characteristics and their seizures. Results: In the final cohort (N = 520), 292 patients experienced seizures. POS, EPS, SDR, and/or PTS occurred in 29.6% (154/520), 6.0% (31/520), 13.8% (70/509), and 36.1% (152/421) of patients, respectively. POS occurred more frequently in patients with higher Karnofsky Performance Scale scores (odds ratio [OR] = 3.27, p =.001) and tumor location in the temporal lobe (OR = 1.51, p =.034). None of the parameters we analyzed was related to the occurrence of EPS. SDR were independently associated with tumor location (parietal lobe, OR = 1.86, p =.027) and POS, but not EPS, and were independent of RCT. PTS were independently associated with tumor progression (OR = 2.32, p <.001) and with occurrence of SDR (OR = 3.36, p <.001), and negatively correlated with temporal lobe location (OR =.58, p <.014). In patients with tumors exclusively located in the temporal lobe, complete tumor resection was associated with a decreased risk of postoperative seizures. Significance: Seizures in glioblastoma patients have various, time‐dependent risk factors. Temporal lobe localization was a risk factor for preoperative seizures; surgery may have had a protective effect in these patients. RCT did not have dose‐dependent pro‐ or anticonvulsive effects. PTS were associated with tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]