title: Balloon cells associated with granule cell dispersion in the dentate gyrus in hippocampal sclerosis.
abstract: Granule cell dispersion (GCD) is a common finding in hippocampal sclerosis in patients with intractable focal epilepsy. It is considered to be an acquired, post-developmental rather than a pre-existing abnormality, involving dispersion of either mature or newborn neurones, but the precise factors regulating it and its relationship to seizures are unknown. We present two cases of GCD with associated CD34-immunopositive balloon cells, a cell phenotype associated with focal cortical dysplasia type IIB, considered to be a developmental cortical lesion promoting epilepsy. This observation opens up the debate regarding the origin of balloon cells and CD34 expression and their temporal relationship to seizures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK. M.Thom@ion.ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thom
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martinian
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Caboclo
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: McEvoy
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sisodiya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000378:metabolism; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000473:pathology*; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012598:Sclerosis / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein