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INTRODUCTION: Focal cortical dysplasias (FCD) are cortical malformations and, although they display typical characteristics in conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the precise determination of the epileptogenic zone remains a controversial issue. The less favourable progress during the post-operative period with respect to other symptomatic epilepsies could be explained by the existence of epileptogenic areas that do not show up in conventional MRI. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to subtle microstructural abnormalities, and fractional anisotropy, which is an indirect indicator, shows areas with reductions in the underlying white matter that go beyond the alterations detected with conventional MRI in isolated cases in previous works. AIM: In this study we analyse the characteristics of fractional anisotropy in a series of patients with FCD in order to evaluate the contribution made to diagnosis by MRI by DTI. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-one controls and eleven patients with FCD that was visible in MRI were scanned, and clinical and imaging variables were both recorded. A visual analysis of the fractional anisotropy maps was conducted to search for asymmetries between hemispheres and biases in the clinical or structural MRI data. RESULTS: Two females and nine males, aged 30 ± 9.7 years took part in the study; time to progression of epilepsy: 22 ± 9.3 years; average frequency of the seizures: 3/month (range: 0.16-8/month). All of them showed inter-hemispheric asymmetries, which went beyond the structural limits of FCD in the case of 10 of the patients (90%). None of the controls displayed asymmetries in the fractional anisotropy. No significant relation was found with the variables that were compared. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies need to be conducted with larger numbers of patients in order to evaluate the usefulness of DTI in defining the location and extension of the epileptogenic zone in this population.
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Imagen de Difusión por Resonancia Magnética , Malformaciones del Desarrollo Cortical/diagnóstico , Adulto , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Femenino , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical features of epilepsy secondary to Malformation of Cortical Development (MCD) in a series of adult patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched our database for all cases with confirmed epilepsy and MCD and included in the study only those with complete data. Mean age, sex, age at seizure onset (ASO), seizure types, abnormal neurological exam (ANE), mental retardation, family history, gestational or perinatal insults (G-PI), interictal EEG and response to treatment were analyzed. Cases were classified into the 3 main groups (G) according to the Barkovich classification (BC) and then compared: (G1) "malformations due to abnormal cell proliferation", (G2) "malformations due to abnormal migration" and (G3) "malformations due to abnormal cortical organization". RESULTS: We identified 152 (5.06%) patients with MCD from a total of 3000 with epilepsy. In total, 138 patients with complete medical data were included in this study. The mean age of patients was 36.2 years, 52.2% were female, the mean ASO was 12.3 years, 5.1% of cases had a positive family history and 21% had G-PI. An ANE was observed in 21% and mental retardation in 31.9%. Most of the patients (84.8%) had refractory epilepsy. The distribution of cases according to the BC was: 51.4% in G1, 28.9% in G2 and 19.6% in G3. Comparing the 3 groups, we found that an ANE was statistically more frequent in G3 and was present in 70.4% of cases. CONCLUSION: Our series of adult patients with epilepsy and MCD suggests that MCD are identified as commonly in a developing country as in previous "first world" series. Neurological deficits were more common in the subgroup of patients with polymicrogyria and schizencephaly (BC Group 3).
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Encéfalo/patología , Epilepsia/complicaciones , Epilepsia/patología , Malformaciones del Desarrollo Cortical/complicaciones , Malformaciones del Desarrollo Cortical/epidemiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Edad de Inicio , Anciano , Encéfalo/anomalías , Electroencefalografía , Epilepsia/clasificación , Epilepsia/cirugía , Femenino , Humanos , Discapacidad Intelectual , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Masculino , Malformaciones del Desarrollo Cortical/clasificación , Malformaciones del Desarrollo Cortical/diagnóstico , Persona de Mediana Edad , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
AIM: We describe the clinical features, treatment and prognosis in a series of patients with epilepsy secondary to hypothalamic hamarthomas (HH) in a developing country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight patients with epilepsy and HH were included between 1997 and 2006. We analyzed gender, age, age at seizure onset (ASO), seizure types (ST), mental retardation (MR), precocious puberty (PP), electroencephalogram (EEG)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features and response to treatment. RESULTS: Mean age 25.1 years, 2/6 female/male, none had PP, ASO 4.5 years. Complex partial seizure were the most frequent (100%), mean similar to those seen in temporal (62.5%) or frontal lobe epilepsy (37.5%). Exactly 87.5% developed gelastic seizures (GS). Half of the patients showed MR. Mild-to-severe MR was associated with the presence of multiple ST including atonic and complex partial seizures with frontal semiology. Interictal EEG was abnormal in 87.5% patients. Video EEG was performed in three cases with unspecific findings. HH were small and sessile in seven patients whereas large and pedunculated in one. All patients were refractory to medical treatment. In five, an additional procedure was performed without any significant improvement. CONCLUSION: These series show the heterogeneous spectrum of this entity and the difficulties in its treatment in a developing country.