Evolution of epilepsy in hemimegalencephaly from infancy to adulthood: Case report and review of the literature

Kristin M Ikeda; Seyed M Mirsattari

doi:10.1016/j.ebcr.2017.02.002

Evolution of epilepsy in hemimegalencephaly from infancy to adulthood: Case report and review of the literature

Epilepsy Behav Case Rep. 2017 Mar 1:7:45-48. doi: 10.1016/j.ebcr.2017.02.002. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Kristin M Ikeda¹, Seyed M Mirsattari¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Western University, Room B10-106, 339 Windermere Road, London, ON N6A 5A5, Canada.

Abstract

Hemimegalencephaly (HME) is a rare disorder of cortical development with overgrowth of one cerebral hemisphere. Patients have intellectual delay, hemiparesis and severe epilepsy. Drug-resistant epilepsy is often treated with a hemispherectomy. We review the literature on HME natural history and report a 26-year-old man with HME who did not undergo hemispherectomy in childhood with recurrent focal convulsive or non-convulsive status epilepticus. Few patients with HME have been followed into adulthood. Reported adult cases have milder epilepsy or underwent hemispherectomy in childhood. Patients surviving to adulthood have poor outcomes, regardless of treatment method, although seizure burden is improved with hemispherectomy.

Keywords: DRE, drug-resistant epilepsy; Drug-resistant epilepsy; EPC, epilepsia partialis continua; HME, hemimegalencephaly; Hemimegalencephaly; Natural history; SE, status epilepticus; Seizure; hemispherectomy.

Publication types

Case Reports