Glial cell changes in the white matter in temporal lobe epilepsy

Temporal lobe gliosis and neuronal loss are pathological hallmarks of compl ex partial seizures. However, the specificity of glial cell changes is not clear. To assess this we studied surgically resected temporal lobes contain ing either medial temporal sclerosis (MTS) or temporal lobe epilepsy with t umour (TLET) and compared them with idiopathic epilepsy cases and normal co ntrols. We quantitatively assessed glial cell density and mean nuclear volu me in the white matter of various temporal gyri and the deep white matter. There was an increase in mean glial cell nuclear volume in MTS and TLET cas es in the white matter of superior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus an d deep white matter but not in the white matter of the middle temporal gyru s. In contrast, the densities of glial cells immunopositive for glial fibri llary acidic protein in the MTS and TLET groups were reduced in all white m atter regions when compared with the controls. These changes may indicate t hat glial cells in the white matter have an active role to play in epilepsy pathogenesis. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.