Frontal and temporal volumes in Childhood Absence Epilepsy.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared frontotemporal brain volumes in children with childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) to age- and gender-matched children without epilepsy. It also examined the association of these volumes with seizure, demographic, perinatal, intelligence quotient (IQ), and psychopathology variables.


METHODS
Twenty-six children with CAE, aged 7.5-11.8 years, and 37 children without epilepsy underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at 1.5 Tesla. Tissue was segmented, and total brain, frontal lobe, frontal parcellations, and temporal lobe volumes were computed. All children had IQ testing and structured psychiatric interviews. Parents provided seizure, perinatal, and behavioral information on each child.


RESULTS
The CAE group had significantly smaller gray matter volumes of the left orbital frontal gyrus as well as both left and right temporal lobes compared to the age- and gender-matched children without epilepsy. In the CAE group these volumes were related to age, gender, ethnicity, and pregnancy complications but not to seizure, IQ, and psychopathology variables. In the group of children without epilepsy, however, the volumes were related to IQ.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that CAE impacts brain development in regions implicated in behavior, cognition, and language. In addition to supporting the cortical focus theory of CAE, these findings also imply that CAE is not a benign disorder.
Caplan
Rochelle
R
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, California, USA. rcaplan@ucla.edu
Levitt
Jennifer
J
Siddarth
Prabha
P
Wu
Keng Nei
KN
Gurbani
Suresh
S
Sankar
Raman
R
Shields
W Donald
WD
D000367:Age Factors; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004832:Epilepsy, Absence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*