Brain, Vol. 118, No. 6, 1521-1528, 1995
© 1995 Guarantors of Brain
research-article |
Febrile convulsions
Is seizure duration the most important predictor of temporal lobe epilepsy?
Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario London, Ontario
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to: Dr R. S. McLachlan University Hospital.339 Windermere Road, London.Ontario. Canada N6A 5A5
The association between febrile convulsions and temporal lobe epilepsy is recognized. but is controversial. We attempted to clarify this and to determine which attributes of febrile convulsions were associated with temporal lobe epilepsy. During a study of genetic linkage in febrile convulsions, families with at least four affected members were identified. Clinical features of febrile seizures and EEG findings were compared in those who did and did not develop later afebrile seizures. In six selected families, 59 family members had febrile convulsions. Temporal lobe epilepsy developed in eight of these, whereas only one of 213 family members with no febrile convulsions had temporal lobe epilepsy (P < 0.0001). The mean durations of febrile convulsions in those with and without progression to temporal lobe epilepsy were 100 and 9 min, respectively (P = 0.02). Five patients had temporal lobectomies, which revealed mesial temporal sclerosis in all cases. Four patients who developed other types of epilepsy had a mean duration of febrile convulsions of 90 min. The total number, the maximum number in any one day, and the age at onset of febrile convulsions did not differ significantly between groups. Only two patients had neurological deficits, both of whom subsequently had non-localizable partial epilepsy. In these families, selected to reduce genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity, a strong association was evident between febrile convulsions and temporal lobe epilepsy with mesial temporal sclerosis. A prolonged febrile convulsion was the most important determinant of this association.
febrile convulsions; temporal lobe epilepsy; mesial temporal sclerosis; EEG
Received May 5, 1995. Accepted August 2, 1995.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. Labate, A. Cerasa, A. Gambardella, U. Aguglia, and A. Quattrone Hippocampal and thalamic atrophy in mild temporal lobe epilepsy: A VBM study Neurology, September 30, 2008; 71(14): 1094 - 1101. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Shinnar, D. C. Hesdorffer, D. R. Nordli Jr, J. M. Pellock, C. O'Dell, D. V. Lewis, L. M. Frank, S. L. Moshe, L. G. Epstein, A. Marmarou, et al. Phenomenology of prolonged febrile seizures: Results of the FEBSTAT study Neurology, July 15, 2008; 71(3): 170 - 176. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. E. Scheffer, L. A. Harkin, B. E. Grinton, L. M. Dibbens, S. J. Turner, M. A. Zielinski, R. Xu, G. Jackson, J. Adams, M. Connellan, et al. Temporal lobe epilepsy and GEFS+ phenotypes associated with SCN1B mutations Brain, January 1, 2007; 130(1): 100 - 109. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Labate, P. Ventura, A. Gambardella, E. Le Piane, E. Colosimo, U. Leggio, R. Ambrosio, F. Condino, D. Messina, P. Lanza, et al. MRI evidence of mesial temporal sclerosis in sporadic "benign" temporal lobe epilepsy Neurology, February 28, 2006; 66(4): 562 - 565. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. F. Berkovic, P. Izzillo, J. M. McMahon, L. A. Harkin, A. M. McIntosh, H. A. Phillips, R. S. Briellmann, R. H. Wallace, A. Mazarib, M. Y. Neufeld, et al. LGI1 mutations in temporal lobe epilepsies Neurology, April 13, 2004; 62(7): 1115 - 1119. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L Vadlamudi, I E Scheffer, and S F Berkovic Genetics of temporal lobe epilepsy J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, October 1, 2003; 74(10): 1359 - 1361. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Janszky, H. Jokeit, D. Heinemann, R. Schulz, F. G. Woermann, and A. Ebner Epileptic activity influences the speech organization in medial temporal lobe epilepsy Brain, September 1, 2003; 126(9): 2043 - 2051. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. E. Porter, A. R. Judkins, R. R. Clancy, A. Duhaime, D. J. Dlugos, and J. A. Golden Dysplasia: A common finding in intractable pediatric temporal lobe epilepsy Neurology, August 12, 2003; 61(3): 365 - 368. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J.A. Lawson, M.J. Cook, S. Vogrin, L. Litewka, D. Strong, A.F. Bleasel, and A.M.E. Bye Clinical, EEG, and quantitative MRI differences in pediatric frontal and temporal lobe epilepsy Neurology, March 12, 2002; 58(5): 723 - 729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Shinnar and T. A. Glauser Febrile Seizures J Child Neurol, January 1, 2002; 17(1_suppl): S44 - S52. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Abou-Khalil, Q. Ge, R. Desai, R. Ryther, A. Bazyk, R. Bailey, J. L. Haines, J. S. Sutcliffe, and A. L. George Jr. Partial and generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus and a novel SCN1A mutation Neurology, December 26, 2001; 57(12): 2265 - 2272. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. S. Briellmann, Y. Torn-Broers, G. D. Jackson, and S. F. Berkovic Seizures in family members of patients with hippocampal sclerosis Neurology, November 27, 2001; 57(10): 1800 - 1804. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Kobayashi, I. Lopes-Cendes, C. A. M. Guerreiro, S. C. Sousa, M. M. Guerreiro, and F. Cendes Seizure outcome and hippocampal atrophy in familial mesial temporal lobe epilepsy Neurology, January 23, 2001; 56(2): 166 - 172. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. P C Bower, C. J Kilpatrick, S. J Vogrin, K. Morris, and M. J Cook Degree of hippocampal atrophy is not related to a history of febrile seizures in patients with proved hippocampal sclerosis J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, December 1, 2000; 69(6): 733 - 738. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Nakayama, K. Hamano, N. Iwasaki, S. Nakahara, Y. Horigome, H. Saitoh, T. Aoki, T. Maki, M. Kikuchi, T. Migita, et al. Significant evidence for linkage of febrile seizures to chromosome 5q14-q15 Hum. Mol. Genet., January 1, 2000; 9(1): 87 - 91. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. D. Jackson, A. M. McIntosh, R. S. Briellmann, and S. F. Berkovic Hippocampal sclerosis studied in identical twins Neurology, July 1, 1998; 51(1): 78 - 84. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Kanemoto, N. Takuji, J. Kawasaki, and I. Kawai Characteristics and treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy with a history of complicated febrile convulsion J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, February 1, 1998; 64(2): 245 - 248. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. M Verity Do seizures damage the brain? The epidemiological evidence Arch. Dis. Child., January 1, 1998; 78(1): 78 - 84. [Full Text]
|
|