The 7-TLE Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The 7 Tesla TLE Study: a multicentre, prospective high-field imaging study to investigate the role of the piriform cortex in drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy
IRAS ID
302480
Contact name
Torsten Baldeweg
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 7 months, 31 days
Research summary
Epilepsy is a condition of the brain that causes those affected to have a predisposition to recurrent seizures. A seizure is caused by abnormal electrical activity of the brain and causes unpleasant symptoms. As examples, a patient may experience a seizure as a loss of awareness or uncontrolled movements of the limbs. Temporal lobe epilepsy is a particular and frequent type of focal epilepsy (meaning that the seizures originate within the temporal lobe).
Whilst most people with epilepsy are able to prevent seizures by taking anti-seizure medications, a minority of people with temporal lobe epilepsy do not respond to these medications and require surgery to remove the temporal lobe causing seizures. Again, whilst some of these patients are cured by surgery, others are not and there is further research required to understand the reasons.
The purpose of this study is to further investigate the brain regions and connections between brain regions that are abnormal in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. We will conduct a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study to understand the structural reasons and functional (brain activity) differences between those with and without epilepsy and the effects that removal of these regions and connections (with surgery) has on seizure frequency outcome.
In summary, this will be a prospective, observational, case-control MRI study that will require one MRI scanning session for each participants. There will be no alterations to clincal care. We will recruit patients (children and adults) with temporal lobe epilepsy and healthy controls. For patients only, pre- and post-operative clinical data and routine MRI scans will be collected from the National Health Service records.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0171
Date of REC Opinion
7 Sep 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion