Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: eMedicine Neurology

Postictal aphasia suggests onset in the language-dominant temporal lobe.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1184509-overview

Causes

• Approximately two thirds of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy treated surgically have hippocampal sclerosis as the pathologic substrate.
• The etiologies of temporal lobe epilepsy include the following:
  • Infections, eg, herpes encephalitis, bacterial meningitis, neurocysticercosis
  • Trauma producing contusion or hemorrhage that results in encephalomalacia or cortical scarring; difficult traumatic delivery such as forceps deliveries
  • Hamartomas
  • Malignancies (eg, meningiomas, gliomas, gangliomas)
  • Vascular malformations (ie, arteriovenous malformation, cavernous angioma)
  • Cryptogenic: A cause is presumed but has not been identified.
  • Idiopathic (genetic): This is rare. Familial temporal lobe epilepsy was described by Berkovic and colleagues³ , and partial epilepsy with auditory features was described by Scheffer and colleagues.