Prognostic factors in the surgical treatment of medically intractable epilepsy associated with mesial temporal sclerosis

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prognostic factors determining seizure remission after temporal lobectomy for intractable epilepsy associated with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) at pathology. METHODS: The clinical and investigative features of 116 consecutive patients who had temporal lobe surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy and MTS at pathology were assessed using actuarial statistics and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 63 months the probability of achieving at least a 1-year period of continuous seizure freedom was 67%. Factors contributing to a favourable outcome were interictal EEG localization to the operated lobe and the absence of secondarily generalized seizures. These were also selected in the multivariate analysis, although at lower statistical significance (P=0.08 and 0.09, respectively). Perinatal complications were associated with a significantly worse outcome but overall, complicated febrile convulsions and congruent neuropsychological deficits were not significantly predictive variables. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings may aid in the non-invasive presurgical assessment of patients with intractable TLE and clinical and neuroimaging evidence of MTS.