International Epilepsy Research News

A recent study published in Epilepsia, the official journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), indicates that people who have uncontrolled seizures on the left side of their brains are more likely to have learning disabilities, in comparison to people who have seizures on the right side of their brains. Epilepsy, a neurological disorder associated with recurrent seizures, affects 0.5% to 1% of the population. In the U.S., about 2.5 million people have this disorder and about 9% of Americans will have at least one seizure during their lives.

In the study conducted at the LSU Epilepsy Center of Excellence, adult patients of normal intelligence with either left temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) or right TLE were evaluated with reading comprehension, written language, and calculation tests. The Center researchers found that 75% of patients with left TLE had one or more learning disabilities. This was found in only 10% of those with right TLE. Additionally, those with left TLE reported higher rates of literacy and/or career development problems, such as a history of special education, repeating grades, or disrupted educational progress.

According to author Grant Butterbaugh, Ph.D., Director of the LSU Epilepsy Center’s Neuropsychology Program, and his colleagues, left temporal lobe seizure onset was associated with higher risk of learning disabilities, consistent with the disruptive impact of medically well treated but uncontrolled seizures in the "language dominant" side of the brain.

The ILAE estimates that approximately 6 in every 1000 young people have epilepsy, with 80% attending mainstream schools and colleges. While the impact of each person's epilepsy is unique, these results are important because they highlight the potential needs of people with both temporal lobe epilepsy and learning disabilities for early educational intervention and reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

About the Author

Grant Butterbaugh, PhD is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Epilepsy Center of Excellence, where he serves as Director of Neuropsychology and Research on the social-emotional and cognitive impact of epilepsy. He has co-authored professional articles and presentations on the impact of various neuropsychological and psychological disorders on life span learning and other developmental issues. Dr. Butterbaugh is available for questions and interviews and can be reached at (504) 568-3068.

Epilepsy Study Shows Memory Loss After Brain Surgery

Epilepsia, the official publication of the International League Against Epilepsy, recently published a one-year follow-up study that finds some post-surgical epilepsy patients have a significant decline in verbal memory. This type of memory loss is associated with learning, recall and recognition.

Three months after surgery, patients with surgery performed on either the left or right brain tissue showed signs of verbal memory loss. Initially, the resulting loss of memory was thought to be a possible effect of the trauma of surgery. However, 12 months later 30% -50% of those patients who experienced surgery to the left temporal lobe showed no recovery of verbal memory, while patients who had surgery on the right side of their brain regained their memory. The results indicate that the decline observed in a small portion of patients who had surgery on the right side of their brains was temporary and most likely the effects of complications in surgery. Verbal memory loss mainly affects those patients whose surgery was performed on the left side of the brain.

Selective Amygdalohippocampectomy (SAH), or mesial temporal lobectomy, was the type of surgery performed on the 115 patients studied. “It was not clear from existing studies to what extent an SAH can lead to significant declines in memory functions, which memory functions are at risk of becoming impaired, and which determinants of outcome can be discerned,” observed author Ulrike Gleissner, PhD.

As a type of epilepsy surgery, SAH was originally developed to spare unaffected brain tissue from resection and thus to minimize the negative consequences of anterior temporal lobectomy, a more conventional surgical technique. Most often SAH is sufficient to eliminate recurrent seizures in patients.

About the Author

Ulrike Gleissner, PhD has been conducting neuropsychological examinations and scientific research in patients with epilepsy since 1994. She has co-authored numerous scientific articles and currently resides in Bonn, Germany. Dr. Gleissner is available for questions and interviews and can be reached at Ulrike.gleissner@ukb.uni-bonn.de.

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