Unilateral polymicrogyria: a common cause of hemiplegia of prenatal origin

We describe a series of 13 patients, ten males and three females. with ages ranging between three and fourteen years, who show unilateral polymicrogyr ia tin the left cerebral hemisphere in four cases and in the right in nine) . The first and the main clinical alteration in all 13 cases was hemiparesi s that did not change along the years. Ten patients had seizures that were completely controlled in seven. Three cases never presented seizures. Spont aneous threat of abortion or arterial hypertension during the first five mo nths of pregnancy occurred in five cases. Weight less: than 3 kg at birth w as observed in six cases. The only patient who shows severe mental retardat ion associated with deafness is a girl who had infantile spasms at 20 days of age and presents duplication of a short arm of the chromosome X. Convent ional magnetic resonance (MR) studies, performed in four cases did not disc lose polymicrogyria but only an enlarged cortex that was diagnosed as corti cal dysplasia. Three-dimensional MR (3DMR) images are very important not on ly to see the polymicrogyria, but also its extension and severity, especial ly if, moreover the axial, coronal and sagittal views, oblique, frontal, oc cipital, basal and superior images of the hemispheric cortical surface are performed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.