Aim: Arachnoid cysts are benign developmental anomalies. They are frequently located in the middle cranial fossa. Common clinical findings are cranial enlargement, hydrocephaly, headache, epileptic seizures, psychomotor retardation and aphasia. It is not known whether there is any correlation between intracranial AC and epileptic seizures. The aim of our study was to determine the association between temporal AC and epilepsy in epileptic patients with AC localized to the temporal region by evaluating the type of seizures, interictal EEG findings, any concurrent epileptogenic pathology and the response to medication.
Material and Methods: Nine cases with AC of the temporal lobe were included in the study. The ages of the patients (2 females, 7 males) varied from 6 to 54 (mean age: 25.5 ±13.6) .
Results: The arachnoid cyst was localized in the left temporal lobe in six patients, right temporal lobe in two patients and in both the right and left temporal lobes in one patient. The type of seizure was generalized tonic clonic (GTC) in six patients, simple partial progressing to generalized seizures in one patient, Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) in one patient and simple partial seizures with motor findings in one patient. The interictal EEG was normal in four patients. Two patients had generalized spike-wave activity, two patients with left temporal lobe AC had a right temporal focus and one patient showed epileptiform activity.
Conclusion: The findings of our study supported the notion that the concurrence of AC and epilepsy was incidental and also failed to show an association between AC and a specific type of epilepsy.
Key Words: Temporal arachnoid cysts, EEG, epilepsy
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