title: Dysmorphic neurons in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.
abstract: We studied morphologic characteristics of dysmorphic neurons in the hippocampus of seven patients with medically intractable TLE and compare histological, clinical, and imaging features with ten TLE patients with classical hippocampal sclerosis without abnormal cells. Such dysmorphic neurons were observed in the hilus of the dentate gyrus and were characterized by giant or misshapen cells with abnormal cytoskeletal structure and atypical dendritic processes that resembled the dysmorphic neurons from cortical dysplasias. Specimens with dysmorphic cells also contained other cytoarchitectural abnormalities including bilamination of the dentate granular cell layer (four out seven cases), and the presence of Cajal-Retzius cells in the dentate gyrus or Ammon's horn (five out seven cases). There were no statistically significant differences regarding the age at onset, duration of epilepsy, and hippocampal asymmetry ratio between patients with or without dysmorphic cells. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that a higher proportion of patients with dysmorphic neurons continued to present auras after surgery, when compared with patients without those cells.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de São Paulo/UNIFESP, Rua Botucatu, 862-São Paulo, 04023-900 SP, Brazil. valotta.nexp@epm.br
authors.forename: Alexandre Valotta
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Jean Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Houzel
authors.forename: Elza Marcia
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Targas Yacubian
authors.forename: Henrique
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carrete
authors.forename: Américo Ceiki
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Margareth Rose
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Priel
authors.forename: Heloise Helena
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Ivanilson
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garzon
authors.forename: João Norberto
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Stavale
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: da Silva Centeno
authors.forename: Helio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Esper Abrão
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Cavalheiro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology; D002549:Diffuse Cerebral Sclerosis of Schilder / Q000503:physiopathology; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology