Neuropsychological assessment and clinical evaluation in temporal lobe epilepsy with associated cortical dysplasia

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) is a chronic neurological disorder, often associated to cognitive deficits. Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), frequently associated to high risk of epilepsy, can lead to abnormalities in cognition. The aim of this study was to explore neuropsychological performance and to identify potential risk factors for cognitive impairment in TLE subjects with associated FCD. Our sample was composed by 46 TLE patients with FCD (37.76 ± 12.60 years; 29 females and 16 males) and 44 healthy controls (41.05 ± 9.74 years; 25 females and 19 males). All subjects performed a neuropsychological battery associated to a measurement of depression and anxiety. Results showed a poor performance of all domains of cognitive functioning and identified age of epilepsy onset as potential risk factor of cognitive impairment. These findings support the importance to focus on cognitive impairment in TLE patients with FCD to better clarify the impact of epilepsy features and FCD in therapeutic and everyday management.