EPILGENERO

PID2020-118992RB-I00

ABSTRACT

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder consisting of paroxysmal phenomena caused by repeated, uncontrollable and unpredictable cerebral discharges, prolonged in time whose impact affects all spheres of the individual, cognitive, affective, social, functionality and autonomy and quality of life. Its treatments, effective in the remission of seizures, are not without unwanted effects. These characteristics make epilepsy a valid model of chronic stress in humans. In this context, studies on the subject use mixed samples made up of men and women indistinctly, underestimating the impact of sexual differences. Previous results of the research team presenting this proposal suggest that the sex variable could explain, at least in part, the individual differences found in patients. In addition, due to the implications of epilepsy on reproductive function and sexual behavior, it is foreseeable that the possible differences between men and women in how they cope with epilepsy will affect them differently, altering gender aspects, socially conditioned. For all these reasons, this project aims to delve into the sexual differences in the psychobiological markers of chronic stress (cortisol) with the ultimate aim of knowing its consequences on reproductive function (testosterone, estradiol and progesterone), gender identity and role, cognitive performance, mood alterations and, ultimately, the quality of life, functionality and autonomy of patients in their daily lives. In addition, considering the importance of age for both the perception of stress and the levels of sex hormones, a sample of child and adolescent patients will be included because they are in a critical period of sexual development. For this, there will be a sample of 80 patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy, matched by sex and distributed in two age groups: between 8 and 18 years (n = 40, 20 boys and 20 girls) and adults (n = 40, 20 men and 20 women) who will be compared with control groups of people potentially subjected to stress, but without a diagnosis of epilepsy with similar characteristics in terms of age and sex. All participants will have the aforementioned variables recorded both at home and in a laboratory session before surgery. The results of the study would represent a relevant advance in the generation of scientific knowledge, insofar as it provides new data on the pathophysiological correlates of chronic stress from an integral perspective of the individual. They would also suppose a possibility of transfer to the clinical care setting insofar as they would allow guiding the design of cognitive-behavioral interventions and clinical decision-making and their effects on cognitive functions, adaptive stress processes, their functionality in daily life and the quality of life of these patients.

The development of this project will be effective within the framework of the collaboration agreement in force with the La Fe Health Research Institute (IIS La Fe)

OBJECTIVES

The general objectives of this project are the following:

1. To determine the differences between men and women with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy in the diurnal profiles of cortisol and in the levels of sex hormones, the role of clinical variables in these differences and their consequences on reproductive function, identity and role. of gender, cognitive performance, mood, quality of life and functionality and autonomy in people with temporal lobe epilepsy before surgery compared to a control group.

2. Examine the effects of age, both as a continuous variable in the form of a predictor / modulator, and the differences between the different age groups (adolescents and adults) in hormonal profiles and their relationship with reproductive function, identity and role. gender, cognitive performance, mood, quality of life, and functionality and autonomy in people with epilepsy before surgery compared to control groups.

• Vicente Villanueva Haba. Fundación para la Investigación Hospital Universitario La Fe. Centro: Hospital Universitario La Fe (Valencia).

• Kevin G. Hampel. Fundación para la Investigación Hospital Universitario La Fe. Centro: Hospital Universitario La Fe (Valencia).
• Patricia Smeyers Durá. Fundación para la Investigación Hospital Universitario La Fe. Centro: Hospital Universitario La Fe (Valencia).
• Irene Cano López. Fundación de la Comunidad Valenciana Universidad Internacional de Valencia

• Ministerio Ciencia e Innovación (Retos de la sociedad)