Abstracts

Rationale: One of the major side effects in the surgical treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the onset of cognitive impairment, memory loss being one of more recurrrentes. The aim of this study was to determine the effects in patients TLE of neurocognitive rehabilitation in memory after the left and rigth anterior temporal lobectomy. Methods: After 6 months of LATA underwent two groups of patients with TLE-L (n=20) and TLE-R (n=20) to neurocognitive rehabilitation program memory with duration of one year. All patients have hippocampal sclerosis, seizure-free (> 80%) showed mild to severe disturbances in memory and none was medicated with topiramate. They were assessed before and after the program and compared by age, gender and education with patients who were not subjected to rehabilitation. Results: Patients with ATL-L who received cognitive rehabilitation showed improvement in verbal memory (11.7 ± 3.2) and visuospatial memory (8.1 ± 2.9) compared with the group of patients with TLE-L did not receive the intervention [(4.1 ± 3.5) and (6.9 ± 8.0)], respectively (p < 0.05). While patients with ATL-R only showed a better performance in the visuospatial memory (10.4 ± 7.1) compared to the TLE-R group that did not undergo rehabilitation (3.7 ± 6.8, p < 0.05). Both patients with ATL and ATL-L-R receiving the intervention cognitva scored higher performance in attention and concentration, as well as in executive functioning. Conclusions: The cognitive neurorehabilitation can slow and reverse the adverse cognitive effects of the ATL. The improvement in verbal and visuospatial memory in patients with ATL-L suggests the involvement of the left hemisphere in neuronal reorganization of learning and memory of both types of material. While an increase in efficiency in visual memory only in the ATL-R group indicates the specific management right hemisphere for visual and spatial aspects. The rehabilitation has positive effects on both memory and attention, concentration and executive functions, cognitive processes that are altered base in patients with TLE. Funding: No funding