Corpora amylacea in temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis

Abstract

Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is the commonest pathology in epileptic patients undergoing temporal lobe epilepsy surgery. Beside, there are an increased density of corpora amylacea (CA) founded in 6 to 63% of those cases. Objective: verify the presence of CA and the clinical correlates of their occurrence in a consecutive series of patients undergoing temporal surgery with diagnosis of HS. Method: We reviewed 72 hippocampus specimens from January 1997 to July 2000. Student's t test for independent, samples, ANOVA and Tukey test were performed for statistical analysis. Results: CA were found in 35 patients (49%), whose mean epilepsy duration (28.7 years) was significantly longer than that group of patients without CA (19.5 years, p = 0.001). Besides, when CA were found, duration was also significantly correlated with distribution within hippocampus: 28.7 years with diffuse distribution of CA, 15.4 with exclusively subpial and 17.4 years with distribution subpial plus perivascular (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings corroborate the presence of CA in patients with HS and suggest that a longer duration of epilepsy correlate with a more distribution of CA in hippocampus.