Postgraduate Research Bursaries 2003-2004

Identifying Neuroanatomical and Clinical Correlates of Failed Surgery for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Simon Sean Keller

The Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre (MARIARC), University of Liverpool, and the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery (WCNN), Liverpool.

For many patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy, surgical intervention may be the only chance for patients to be rendered seizure-free. Surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy is highly therapeutic for the majority of patients - up to around two-thirds of patients will experience substantial post-surgical improvement in quality of life. However, approximately one-third of patients will not experience significant improvement after surgery. The reasons for surgical failure in these patients are poorly understood. The ability to predict post-surgical outcome using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the clinical history of patients would represent substantial advancement in pre-surgical evaluation of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

The aim of the proposed work is to investigate the neuroanatomical and clinical correlates of failed epilepsy surgery by comparing MR images, extent of temporal lobe resection, and clinical histories between patients achieving good and poor post-surgical outcome.