Abstracts

Early onset brain destructive lesions usually causes motor sequelae, cognitive deficits and pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Porencephaly and multicystic encephalomalacia are two frequent pathological substrates, usually resulting from brain tissue loss and cavitation. In this study clinical, EEG and imaging features of early onset brain lesions will be analyzed. Patients with porencephaly and multicystic encephalomalacia as detected on MRI scans will be analyzed. Clinical variables as well as electrophysiological data will be analyzed, including prolonged Video-EEG data, and correlated with outcome. Twenty patients were included, 14 with multicystic encephalomalacia and 6 with porencephaly. Except for two patients, all others presented motor deficit, encompassing hemiparesis (16 patients). 13 (65%) were males, and 7 females (35%). There was no correlation between perilesional gliosis and birth complications. In the multicystic encephalomalacia subgroup the gliosis ranged from discrete to intense, being absent in only 4 cases with porencephaly. Ipsilateral brainsten atrophy was observed in 16 patients (80%), Background assimetry was observed in all patients, depression in 50% of them, and epileptiform discharges in 16 (80%) patients. Correlation between frequency of interictal discharges and cerebral hemiatrophy was observed, while interictal discharges and gliosis were not correlated. This study shows that there is no correlation between type of brain lesion and prognosis. It additionally shows that presence or absence of gliosis has no correlation with epilepsy and motor deficits. Cerebral hemiatrophy showed correlation with epilepsy and severity of motor deficit. (Supported by FAPESP.)