{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T06:03:20Z","timestamp":1792476200641,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]],"date-time":"2021-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1634688000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives. Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is an idiopathic generalized epileptic syndrome, with a genetic basis clinically identified by myoclonic jerks of the upper limbs upon awaking, generalized tonic-clonic seizures and less frequent absences. Although the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is by definition normal, computer-based Voxel-Based morphometry studies have shown a number of volumetric changes in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. Thus, the aim of the present Voxel-Wise Meta-Analysis was to determine the most consistent regional differences of gray matter volume between JME patients and healthy controls. Materials and Methods. The initial search returned 31 studies. After excluding reviews and studies without control groups or without detailed peak coordinates, 12 studies were finally included in the present meta-analysis. The total number of JME patients was 325, and that of healthy controls was 357. Results. Our study showed a statistically significant increase of the gray matter in the left median cingulate\/paracingulate gyri, the right superior frontal gyrus, the left precentral gyrus, the right supplementary motor area and left supplementary motor area. It also showed a decrease in the gray matter volume in the left thalamus, and in the left insula. Conclusions. Our findings could be related to the functional deficits and changes described by previous studies in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. In this way, the volumetric changes found in the present study could be related to the impaired frontal lobe functions, the emotional dysfunction and impaired pain empathy, and to the disrupted functional connectivity of supplementary motor areas described in JME. It additionally shows changes in the volume of the left thalamus, supporting the theory of thalamocortical pathways being involved in the pathogenesis of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina57111136","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]],"date-time":"2021-10-20T21:29:46Z","timestamp":1634765386000},"page":"1136","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Gray Matter Changes in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. A Voxel-Wise Meta-Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"57","author":[{"given":"Dimitrios","family":"Kazis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Third Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Foivos","family":"Petridis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Third Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Symela","family":"Chatzikonstantinou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Third Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1941-0432","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eleni","family":"Karantali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Third Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rabee","family":"Jamali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, NHS Trust, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rumana","family":"Chowdhury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, NHS Trust, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raluca","family":"Duta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Faculty of Biology, \u201cAlexandru Ioan Cuza\u201d University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5676-0864","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alina-Costina","family":"Luca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700505 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alin","family":"Ciobica","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Faculty of Biology, \u201cAlexandru Ioan Cuza\u201d University of Iasi, 700505 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9844-4010","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioannis","family":"Mavroudis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Third Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece"},{"name":"Department of Neurology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, NHS Trust, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S15","DOI":"10.1016\/j.yebeh.2012.06.024","article-title":"Epidemiology of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy","volume":"28","author":"Camfield","year":"2013","journal-title":"Epilepsy Behav."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1528-1167.2005.00311.x","article-title":"Cellular and network mechanisms of spike-wave seizures","volume":"46","author":"Blumenfeld","year":"2005","journal-title":"Epilepsia"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"370","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eplepsyres.2013.07.003","article-title":"A meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies on gray matter volume alteration in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy","volume":"106","author":"Cao","year":"2013","journal-title":"Epilepsy Res."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Albajes-Eizagirre, A., Solanes, A., Fullana, M.A., Ioannidis, J.P., Fusar-Poli, P., Torrent, C., Sol\u00e9, B., Bonn\u00edn, C.M., Vieta, E., and MataixCols, D. 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