What is (are) Periventricular heterotopia ?
Periventricular heterotopia is a condition in which the nerve cells (neurons) do not migrate properly during the early development of the fetal brain from about the 6th week to the 24th week of pregnancy. Affected people typically develop recurrent seizures (epilepsy) beginning in mid-adolescence. Intelligence is generally normal; however, some affected people may have mild intellectual disability, including difficulty with reading and/or spelling. Less common signs and symptoms include microcephaly, developmental delay, recurrent infections, and blood vessel abnormalities. Some cases are caused by changes (mutations) in the FLNA gene and are inherited in an X-linked dominant manner. Others are caused by mutations in the ARFGEF2 gene and are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Rarely, periventricular heterotopia is associated with duplication of genetic material on chromosome 5. Treatment is generally focused on managing recurrent seizures with medications.