The Effect of Epilepsy and Antiepileptic Drugs on Cortical Motor Excitability in Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

This study included 40 adults (males, 22; females, 18) with TLE with impaired awareness or to bilateral tonic clonic seizures (mean age, 32.50 ± 3.38 years; duration of illness, 6.15 ± 2.02 years) and on treatment with AEDs (valproate, 15; carbamazepine, 15; levetiracetam, 10]. The majority (62.5%) were seizure-free for ≥1 year on AEDs before TMS testing. All had normal brain magnetic resonance imaging except two, who had mesial temporal sclerosis. Comparing the entire patients with controls, patients had significantly bihemispheric higher RMT and AMT particularly over the epileptic hemisphere and shorter CSP and CMCT in the epileptic hemisphere. Shorter CSP and CMCT were observed in patients on valproate or carbamazepine and those who were uncontrolled on medications but not with levetiracetam. Significant correlations were identified between RMT and AMT (P = 0.01) and between CSP and CMCT (P = 0.001). We conclude that chronic TLE had increased cortical disinhibition in the epileptic hemisphere which can spread outside the epileptogenic zone despite the apparent control on AEDs. The TMS studies using CSP and CMCT may help future prediction of pharmacoresistance and, therefore, the need of combined AEDs with multiple mechanisms of action.
Source: Clinical Neuropharmacology - Category: Neurology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research