Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: a case report

BACKGROUND: We report the first case of transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). CASE PRESENTATION: The target was located 20 mm lateral from the midline and 15 mm above the skull base (left hippocampus). Despite the application of maximal energy, the ablation temperature did not exceed 50 °C, probably because of the low number of effective transducer elements with incident angles below 25 degrees. The skull density ratio was 0.56. Post-operative magnetic resonance imaging did not reveal any lesion and the patient remained almost seizure-free for up to 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary case report suggests that MRgFUS may be effective for treating cases of MTLE. Therefore, the safety and feasibility of MRgFUS should be evaluated in future studies with larger numbers of participants and longer follow-up duration.