Persistent severe amnesia due to seizure recurrence after unilateral temporal lobectomy

Epilepsy Behav. 2004 Jun;5(3):394-400. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2004.01.004.

Abstract

Anterograde amnesia is a severely disabling state which has been reported as a consequence of bilateral mesiotemporal lesions in humans. In the present paper, recurrent epileptic seizures after temporal lobectomy are described as a rare cause of severe amnesia in two patients. Diffusion-weighted MRI in one patient showed cytotoxic edema during a nonconvulsive status epilepticus and subsequent progressive hippocampal atrophy within the following month. In the other patient, repeated conventional MRI revealed no structural abnormalities in the contralateral temporal lobe.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Amnesia, Anterograde / etiology*
  • Anterior Temporal Lobectomy / adverse effects*
  • Attention / physiology
  • Brain Mapping
  • Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Electroencephalography / methods
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality
  • Humans
  • Intelligence
  • Language
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Postoperative Complications*
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology
  • Psychosurgery / adverse effects*
  • Recurrence
  • Seizures / complications*
  • Seizures / surgery