Abstracts

Rationale: HHV6 had been detected in brain specimens removed from adult patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). It is unclear whether HHV-6 plays role in children with temporal lobe epilepsy. Methods: All brain specimens resected from children with medically refractory epilepsy who underwent epilepsy surgery between 4/2009- 3/2010 at Children s Hospital of Alabama were tested by PCR for HHV6 DNA. Results: 37 children underwent resective epilepsy surgery. 27 brain specimens were available for HHV6 analysis (mean age of seizure-onset 3.5 yrs, mean age of operation 8.5 yrs). Only 3 patients had temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), 2 of which had abnormal MRI consistent with MTLE. 24 patients had extratemporal epilepsy: 3 tuberous sclerosis, 1 Sturge-Weber syndrome, 1 Rassmussen s encephalitis, and 19 focal cortical dysplasia. Only the brain specimen from a patient with Rasmussen s encephalitis was positive for HHV6 DNA, and all other specimens, including cases with TLE, were negative for HHV6 DNA. Conclusions: These results do not support a role for HHV6 in pediatric TLE, although the small sample size studied does not eliminate an association. The presence of HHV6 in a patient with Rasmussen s encephalitis raises the possibility of HHV6 association in Rasmussen s encephalitis pathogenesis.