Epileptogenicity of cavernomas depends on (archi-) cortical localization.
BACKGROUND
Patients with cerebral cavernomas have an estimated risk of the development of epilepsy of 1.5% to 2.4% per patient-year.


OBJECTIVE
To clarify the predictive value of different risk factors for epilepsy in patients with supratentorial cavernomas.


METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed data of 109 patients with supratentorial cavernomas. The correlation of epilepsy with the variables of single or multiple cavernomas, sex, age, side, cortical involvement, mesiotemporal archicortical vs neocortical involvement, lobar location of neocortical cavernomas, the presence of a hemosiderin rim and of edema, and the maximal diameters of cavernoma, hemosiderin rim, and edema, if present, were calculated using univariate and multivariate penalized likelihood logistic regression models.


RESULTS
Cortical involvement was the most relevant risk factor for epilepsy (P < .0001). No patient with a subcortical cavernoma presented with epilepsy. Epilepsy was more common in patients with mesiotemporal archicortical cavernomas than in patients with neocortical cavernomas (P = .02), whereas the lobar location of neocortical cavernomas was not significantly associated with the risk of the development of epilepsy. In the multivariate analysis, a greater diameter of the cavernoma, the absence of edema, and localization in the left hemisphere were also associated with the occurrence of epilepsy (P < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
The epileptogenicity of supratentorial cavernomas depends on cortical, especially mesiotemporal archicortical, involvement. Exclusively subcortical cavernomas are highly unlikely to cause epilepsy. This information is helpful in counseling patients with cavernomas regarding their risk of epileptic seizures and in patients with multiple cavernomas and epilepsy to generate a valid hypothesis of which cavernoma may cause epilepsy.
Menzler
Katja
K
Interdisciplinary Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Chen
Xu
X
Thiel
Patricia
P
Iwinska-Zelder
Joanna
J
Miller
Dorothea
D
Reuss
Alexander
A
Hamer
Hajo M
HM
Reis
Janine
J
Pagenstecher
Axel
A
Knake
Susanne
S
Bertalanffy
Helmut
H
Rosenow
Felix
F
Sure
Ulrich
U
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006392:Hemangioma, Cavernous / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult