A Voxel-based Morphometric Analysis in Patients with Epilepsy with Generalized Tonic–clonic Seizures
原发全面强直-阵挛型癫痫的体素形态学研究

Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), the authors have studied the presence of subtle structural abnormalities in patients with epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS). The subjects included 31 patients with GTCS and 31 healthy controls. 3-dimensional (3D) T1 images were acquired by using FSPGR sequence. Brain structural differences between patients and healthy controls were comprehensively assessed by means of VBM. Compared to healthy controls, GTCS presented decreased gray matter volume in the bilateral thalamus, frontal lobe, insula and cerebellum regions. There were no regions showing significant increased gray matter volume. Correlation analysis revealed that bilateral thalamic, left medial frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus and left precentral gyrus GMV had negative correlations with the frequecy of epilepsy. This study provided evidences for cerebral structural abnormalities in the patients with GTCS. The abnormalities of cerebral gray matter volume were considered to be related to the GTCS pathophysiology.