SUMMARYObjective: Studies using quantitative neuroimaging have shown subtle abnormalities in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). These findings have several locations, but the midline parasagittal structures are most commonly implicated. The cingulate cortex is related and may be involved. The objective of the current investigation was to perform a comprehensive analysis of the cingulate cortex using multiple quantitative structural neuroimaging techniques. Methods: Thirty-two patients (18 women, 30 AE 10 years) and 36 controls (18 women, 32 AE 11 years) were imaged by 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A volumetric three-dimensional (3D) sequence was acquired and used for this investigation. Regions-of-interest were selected and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses compared the cingulate cortex of the two groups using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM8) and VBM8 software. Cortical analyses of the cingulate gyrus was performed using Freesurfer. Images were submitted to automatic processing using built-in routines and recommendations. Structural parameters were extracted for individual analyses, and comparisons between groups were restricted to the cingulate gyrus. Finally, shape analyses was performed on the anterior rostral, anterior caudal, posterior, and isthmus cingulate using spherical harmonic description (SPHARM). Results: VBM analyses of cingulate gyrus showed areas of gray matter atrophy, mainly in the anterior cingulate gyrus (972 mm 3 ) and the isthmus (168 mm 3 ). Individual analyses of the cingulate cortex were similar between patients with IGE and controls. Surface-based comparisons revealed abnormalities located mainly in the posterior cingulate cortex (718.12 mm 2 ). Shape analyses demonstrated a predominance of anterior and posterior cingulate abnormalities. Significance: This study suggests that patients with IGE have structural abnormalities in the cingulate gyrus mainly localized at the anterior and posterior portions. This finding is subtle and variable among patients.

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Objective: Investigate areas of correlation between gray matter volumes by MRI and interictal EEG source maps in subtypes of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).Method: 71 patients and 36 controls underwent 3T MRI and and routine EEG was performed. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used for gray matter analysis and analysis of interictal discharge sources for quantitative EEG. Voxel-wise correlation analysis was conducted between the gray matter and EEG source maps in MTLE subtypes.Results: The claustrum was the main structure involved in the individual source analysis. Twelve patients had bilateral HA, VBM showed bilateral hippocampal. Twenty-one patients had right HA, VBM showed right hippocampal and thalamic atrophy and negatively correlated involving the right inferior frontal gyrus and insula. Twenty-two patients had left HA, VBM showed left hippocampal atrophy and negatively correlated involving the left temporal lobe and insula. Sixteen patients had MTLE without HA, VBM showed middle cingulate gyrus atrophy and were negatively correlated involving extra-temporal regions, the main one located in postcentral gyrus.Conclusions: Negative correlations between gray matter volumes and EEG source imaging. Neuroanatomical generators of interictal discharges are heterogeneous and vary according to MTLE subtype.Significance: These findings suggest different pathophysiological mechanisms among patients with different subtypes of MTLE.

Whole brain voxel-wise analysis was more restricted than TBSS. The methods were complementary stressing the significance of the findings. The abnormalities were more frequently observed in FA and RD indicating the need for using several diffusion parameters for the investigation of patients with MTLE.

A 59-year-old man was admitted with respiratory tract infection, compromised conscience and generalized tonic–clonic seizures. His medical history included schizophrenia diagnosis, for which he had been being treated since he was 27 years old. EEG disclosed non-convulsive status epilepticus. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) acquired 3 days later showed increased left hippocampal volume with hyperintensity on T2-weighted and FLAIR sequences. After being treated with antibiotics and antiepileptic medications, the patient’s condition improved. A follow-up MRI showed reduction of the left hippocampus. The relationship between epilepsy and schizophrenia is not yet clear. This case illustrates this interaction. Hippocampal atrophy may have been caused by environmental aggression in the present patient with schizophrenia, perhaps in association with a predisposing genotype.