Focal Epilepsies: Immunologic and Inflammatory Mechanisms

There is increasing evidence documenting activation of inflammatory processes in focal epilepsies. This review article summarizes current data regarding immune mediated inflammatory processes in patients with symptomatic partial epilepsies such as mesial temporal sclerosis, focal cortical dysplasia, and Rasmussen's encephalitis. We have also reviewed several neuronal surface antibody–associated syndromes, which have been recently described with focal seizures as an important part of clinical presentation, such as antibody-associated limbic encephalitis and N-methyl-d-aspartic acid receptor antibody syndrome. An autoimmune mechanism may be one pathogenic factor in some symptomatic epilepsies acting as a triggering event in the process leading to the development of epilepsy.