|
A 22 year-old man with mild mental retardation underwent evaluation for intractable complex partial seizures. |
| Heterotopia:
MP-RAGE axial MRIs. Note the presence of the malformed gray
matter that extends from the left lateral ventricle to the surface of the
left frontal lobe. This is most likely heterotopic
gray matter. However, it is also possible that this is "closed lip" schizencephaly wherein the two sides of the cleft
have fused together (see the images on schizencephaly,
closed lip and
open lip). If one hovers over the blue button on the
right, one can see how
two gyri might have fused together to create such a picture. In
either case, this is a disorder of neural migration and was the
etiology of the patient's seizures. Heterotopic gray matter is a developmental malformation wherein some neurons do not migrate to their expected location, instead forming clumps of gray matter, usually in the deep cerebral white matter or lining the walls of the lateral ventricles (periventricular nodular heterotopia). This condition is on the spectrum of neuronal migration disorders. Neurological sequelae may include seizures, mental retardation, learning disabilities and impaired fine coordination. |
Revised
11/30/06
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston