What Does "focal Polymicrogyria In The Right Posterior Parietal" Mean?

Posted on Thu, 27 Mar 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 27 Mar 2014 Answered on

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My 6 year old son recently had an MRI that showed focal polymicrogyria in the right posterior parietal and anterior occipital lobe with associated gliosis of perventricular white matter or right atrium. Along with this he has "spikes" in a 48 hr EEG during sleeping in the bilateral frontal area. We initially tested him because of sensory issues and a previous seizure. His behavior in Kindergarten was of concern which led us to neuropsych testing. The neuropsych testing indicated delayed fine motor skills and difficulty "hearing" when a speaker was not in front of him. My biggest concern that was not addressed by his neurologist is the gliosis of the white matter.

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (13 hours later)

Brief Answer: Gliosis is not a serious issue. Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for posting your query. I have read the details of your six year old son, and also noted the MRI abnormalities. First of all, I would like to reassure you that gliosis is not a serious abnormality. It refers to an old injury of the brain (either due to lack of blood supply or an infection), which has left a scar (referred to as gliosis in medical term). Gliosis does not cause any problem, except for causing seizures. So, regarding treatment, if there are seizures or if the EEG shows epileptiform discharges, then, anti-epileptic medications may be started. I hope my answer helps. Please get back if you have any follow up queries or if you require any additional information. Wishing you good health, Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, India Click on this link to ask me a DIRECT QUERY: http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar My BLOG: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.in

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar