Measuring mammillary body volume among patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy after laser interstitial thermal therapy may help determine how effective the ablative procedure is, according to a recent study published in Epilepsy Research.
- Investigators reviewed pre- and post-laser interstitial thermal therapy data with the help of magnetic resonance imaging, looking at the axial and coronal planes.
- Patient demographics, clinical semiology, and localization of seizures were considered.
- From 2012 to 2015, 20 patients were available for complete analysis, of which 13 were found to be free of seizures at the end of one year.
- Among patients who remained free of seizures, ipsilaterial mammillary body volume dropped by 34.6% on average, compared to 8.4% in patients who continued to have seizures after laser treatment, suggesting that mammillary body volume may be a useful marker to evaluate the benefits of ablation.
Grewala SS, Guptab V, Vibhute P, Shih JJ, Tatum WO, Wharen RE. Mammillary body changes and seizure outcome after laser interstitial thermal therapy of the mesial temporal lobe. Epilepsy Res. 2018;141:19-22.
