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Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1998 Dec;65(6):910–912. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.65.6.910

Sex differences in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

I Savic 1, J Engel 1
PMCID: PMC2170376  PMID: 9854969

Abstract

Possible sex differences in the pattern of interictal hypometabolism were investigated, and also seizure spread in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (n=48) and hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE). Male patients (n=21) more often had a frontal lobe hypometabolism ipsilateral to the seizure onset (p<0.0001) and a spread of epileptiform activity to this region (p=0.001). By contrast, female patients more often exhibited hypometabolism (p=0.0052) and an ictal spread to the contralateral temporal lobe (p=0.0097). These findings suggest sex differences in spatial distribution of brain dysfunction in MTLE, perhaps reflecting sexual dimorphism in regional cerebral connectivity.



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