Neuroimaging findings in generalised epilepsy

Abstract

By syndrome definition, clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is normal in patients with idiopathic generalised epilepsies. However, group studies employing morphometric MRI techniques report subtle anomalies in the mesial frontal cortex, as well as supplementary motor area and thalamus. In addition, functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies showed an increased functional and structural connectivity between prefrontal cognitive areas and the motor system, explaining syndrome-specific seizure reflex mechanisms. Data from newly diagnosed patients, longitudinal studies and studies in healthy siblings of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) patients provide evidence that these findings reflect a genetically determined abnormal neuronal development and are not caused by chronic disease.