Evaluation of Cognitive Functions and Diffusion Tensor MRI in Patients with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy
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- Category: Vol. 85, December 2017
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Evaluation of Cognitive Functions and Diffusion Tensor MRI in Patients with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, LOBNA EL-GHONEIMY, IMAN EL-BANHAWY, NIRMEEN KISHK, KAMEL HAMMOUDA, RAMY EDWARD, AMANI NAWITO, AMR HASSAN and MARWA FARGHALI
Abstract
Background: Frontal lobe dysfunction in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) patients has been reported with significant impairment on tests of frontal functioning.
Aim of Work: To study the cognitive performance in JME patients and its relation with the clinical and neuroanatomical' neurophysiological abnormalities in JME patients.
Subjects and Methods: Fifty patients with JME and a sample of healthy controls were assessed using a series of neuropsychological tests as well as Diffusion Tensor Imaging MRI (DTI), tractography and electroencephalography. DTI measures assessed fractional anisotropy within specific regions in the white matter.
Results: Cognitive testing showed subtle dysfunction in verbal learning and memory, phonemic and semantic fluency, attention, speed and mental flexibility in JME patients as compared to healthy controls. We also found significant reductions in fractional anisotropy in the left anterior corpus callosum, right supplementary motor area and left anterior cingulate in JME patients.
Conclusion: Patients with JME had poorer cognitive performance in verbal learning and memory, attention, speed and mental flexibility, which was associated with white matter corticallsubcortical microstructural alterations.