Hypothalamic Hamartomas. Part 1. Clinical, Neuroimaging, and Neurophysiological Characteristics
See the companion article in this issue (E7). Neurosurg Focus 34 (6):E6, 2013 ©AANS, 2013 Hypothalamic hamartomas. Part 1. Clinical, neuroimaging, and neurophysiological characteristics SANDEEP MITTAL, M.D., F.R.C.S.C.,1 MONIKA MITTAL, M.D.,1 JOSÉ LUIS MONTES, M.D.,2 JEAN-PIErrE FArmER, M.D., F.R.C.S.C.,2 AND FREDERICK ANDErmANN, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.3 1Department of Neurosurgery, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan; 2Department of Neurosurgery, Montreal Children’s Hospital; and 3Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Hypothalamic hamartomas are uncommon but well-recognized developmental malformations that are classi- cally associated with gelastic seizures and other refractory seizure types. The clinical course is often progressive and, in addition to the catastrophic epileptic syndrome, patients commonly exhibit debilitating cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric disturbances. Over the past decade, investigators have gained considerable knowledge into the pathobio- logical and neurophysiological properties of these rare lesions. In this review, the authors examine the causes and molecular biology of hypothalamic hamartomas as well as the principal clinical features, neuroimaging findings, and electrophysiological characteristics. The diverse surgical modalities and strategies used to manage these difficult le- sions are outlined in the second article of this 2-part review. (http://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2013.3.FOCUS1355)
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