OBIETTIVI
Epilepsy surgery is an established treatment for drug-resistant focal epileptic patients (30% of cases) and a highly qualified healthcare investment (1). Surgical candidacy is determined by the identification of the Epileptogenic Zone (EZ), the cortical site of onset and organization of epileptic discharges, and often requires intracerebral electrode recordings. Removed surgical tissue could allow a correlation of morpho-functional pattern with abnormal electrical activity. With a multimodal strategy and an innovative technological approach, we plan to identify: i) microcircuitry abnormalities responsible for seizure generation and maintenance in cryptogenic patients or in Focal Cortical Dysplasia Type I, II, ii) in the latter cases, the perilesional area contribution to the EZ. Our findings will be highly relevant for EZ identification, and thus the definition of brain tissue to be excised, of possible biomarkers for new pharmacological therapies and for technological advancements.
