Affiliations: Department of Neurology, Central Unit, Sarah Hospital,
Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil
Note: [] Correspondence: Vladimir F. Seguti, MD, QSW 301 – Bloco G, CEP
70673-107, Brasília Distrito Federal, Brazil. Tel.: +21 6133413979;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Schizencephaly is an uncommon structural disorder of cerebral
cortical development. There are few comparative studies evaluating epilepsy in
that condition. The aim of this study is to analyze which factors are
associated with the development of epilepsy in patients with schizencephaly.
The study is a longitudinal, observational and comparative retrospective study
of 35 pediatric patients with schizencephaly. The patients were divided into
two groups: a group of 10 children who developed epilepsy and another group of
25 who had no clinical epileptic manifestations. Both groups were followed up
and the data collected to analyze potential risk factors included demographic
and prenatal data (prenatal event, family history of epilepsy), radiological
features (location of the cleft, unilateral or bilateral, extent of the lesion,
number of impaired lobes, open-lip or closed-lip types, presence of associated
anomalies), and neurological and electroencephalographic data. No significant
difference was found in the association between epilepsy and any of the
examined factors (P>0.05). Neither the features of the
lesion (cleft size location, type of lip, number of impaired lobes, associated
anomalies), nor electroencephalography abnormalities, nor the family history of
epilepsy or prenatal events could predict the occurrence of epilepsy in
patients with schizencephaly.
