Etiology of hippocampal sclerosis

Abstract

Objective: We sought evidence of a hereditary component for hippocampal sclerosis (HS) by determiningwhether close relatives of probandswith temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) withHS also had asymptomatic HS or subtle variation in hippocampal morphology. Methods: First-degree relatives from 15 families in which probands had TLE with HS and 32 age- and sex-matched controls were included in the study. Left and right hippocampal volumes and T2 relaxometry were measured using 3-tesla MRI. Results: Thirty-two asymptomatic first-degree relatives and 3 relatives with a history of seizures or epilepsy were studied. None of the first-degree relatives had HS on visual analysis and T2 relaxation times were n..