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Benign mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 7, pages 237–240 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Benign mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (bMTLE), which is defined as at least 24 months of seizure freedom with or without antiepileptic medication, has probably been under-recognized because of a literature bias toward refractory epilepsy cases. Seizure onset in bMTLE tends to be in adolescence or adulthood, and patients frequently have a family history of febrile seizures and epilepsy. Long-term seizure freedom is observed with or without antiepileptic medication. On brain MRI, nearly 40% of patients with long-standing bMTLE show evidence of hippocampal sclerosis, a feature usually associated with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. Prospective studies are needed to determine the features that allow prediction of a benign course, and to clarify the significance of hippocampal MRI changes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Neurology, University Magna Graecia, Viale Europa, Catanzaro, 88100, Italy

    Angelo Labate & Umberto Aguglia

  2. Institute of Neurological Sciences, National Research Council, Piano Lago—Mangone, Cosenza, 88046, Italy

    Antonio Gambardella

  3. Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, H3A 2B4, QC, Canada

    Eva Andermann & Frederick Andermann

  4. Department of Neurology, University of Campinas—UNICAMP, Cidade Universitaria, Campinas, 13083-970, SP, Brazil

    Fernando Cendes

  5. Department of Medicine, Epilepsy Research Center, University of Melbourne, Level 1, Neurosciences Building, Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Austin Health, 300 Waterdale Road, West Heidelberg, 3081, Vic, Australia

    Samuel F. Berkovic

Authors
  1. Angelo Labate
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  4. Umberto Aguglia
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  6. Samuel F. Berkovic
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  7. Frederick Andermann
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Contributions

The authors all made substantial contributions to discussions of the article content, and to review and/or editing of the manuscript before submission. A. Labate and S. F. Berkovic researched the data for the article, and A. Labate, A. Gambardella, S. F. Berkovic and F. Andermann wrote the text.

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Correspondence to Samuel F. Berkovic.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Labate, A., Gambardella, A., Andermann, E. et al. Benign mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Nat Rev Neurol 7, 237–240 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2010.212

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