Abstracts

To describe the clinical and MR characteristics of patients with familial mesial temporal lobe epilepsy(MTLE) . The MTLE was identified by clinical and EEG findings in 3 epilepsy clinics. Familial MTLE was defined when two or more family members presented with the diagnosis of MTLE. Eight patients were diagnosis of familial MTLE in four unrelated families. Three of 8 individuals had typical aura of MTLE. Seizure types were complex partial with or without secondary GTCs in 6 of 8 patients. History of earlier febrile convulsion was positive in 2 patients. MRI showed hippocampal sclerosis in 3 of 7 patients(43%). Benign MTLE was seen in 6 of 8 patients(75%). Two patients with refractory MTLE had hippocampal sclerosis and received temporal lobectomy, and one patient became seizure free. Patients with hippocampal sclerosis have seizure onset early in life and have history of febrile convulsion, and seizures are often not well controlled. Familial MTLE is rather a clinically heterogeneous syndrome, in terms of MRI finding, seizure type and seizure outcomes in contrast to the original report of Berkovic. This may be partly due to absence of detailed diagnostic criteria of familial MTLE. So some of our patients may be just causal occurrence of MTLE in two family members.