Cortical pathology in multiple sclerosis patients with epilepsy: a 3 year longitudinal study

IntroductionThe cause of epilepsy in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not yet been elucidated. The relevance of cortical pathology (cortical lesions and thickness) in MS patients with and without epilepsy was evaluated in a longitudinal study.Methods32 relapsing–remitting MS patients with epilepsy (RRMS/E) and 60 matched RRMS patients without epilepsy were included in a 3 year longitudinal study. The following clinical and MR parameters were analysed: Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), cognitive score (CS), cortical lesion (CL) number and volume, grey matter fraction (GMf), global cortical thickness (CTh), T2 white matter lesion volume (T2WMLV), new CLs and new WM lesions.ResultsAt baseline (T0), CLs were observed in 27/32 (84.4%) RRMS/E and in 26/60 (43.3%) RRMS (p