Cerebral Cortex Thickness in Patients with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abnormalities in the structure of the cerebral cortex of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, many of these patients have a normal MRI even a few years after the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the cortical thickness of patients with left and right temporal lobe epilepsy with healthy individuals using MRI images.

In the present study, MRI images of healthy control cases (n = 20) and patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy (n = 19) and right temporal lobe epilepsy (n = 14) were used. The mean cortical thickness of these patients was calculated using FREESURFER software. Finally, areas of the cerebral cortex affected by epilepsy were identified and introduced by Mann-Whitney U test.

Patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy had less cortical thickness than healthy individuals in the cingulate, anterior, occipital, and parietal lobes. Cortical thickness atrophy was seen in patients with right lobe epilepsy compared to healthy control individuals in the right hemisphere in the occipital lobe in the lateral occipital region. There was no significant difference between the mean cortical thickness in patients with right and left temporal lobe epilepsy.

In the present study, changes and disturbances in the thickness of gray matter in different areas of the cerebral cortex of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy have been identified as the effects of this disease on the cerebral cortex.