Unexplained bilateral occipital calcification and reduced vision

Coeliac disease, epilepsy and cerebral calcifications

Coeliac disease, epilepsy and cerebral calcifications (CEC) syndrome is a rare clinical condition. One hundred and seventy-one patients have been reported in the literature. Patients are mostly from Italy, Spain, and Argentina, suggesting a geographically restricted condition. Epilepsy is more frequently characterized by occipital seizures. It may be benign or drug-resistant, sometime evolving into severe epileptic encephalopathy. Gluten free diet (GFD) efficacy seems to be inversely related to the duration of epilepsy and the young age of the patient. Patients with cerebral calcifications (CC) and coeliac disease (CD) without epilepsy are considered as having an incomplete form of CEC syndrome. Some patients with epilepsy and CC without CD are supposed to have a CEC syndrome with silent or latent CD. Whether CEC syndrome is a genetic condition, or whether epilepsy and/or CC are a consequence of an untreated CD is unknown yet. Since histopathological findings seem to be the expression of vascular calcified malformation, CEC syndrome may be considered a genetically determined entity, such as a type of Sturge-Weber-like phacomatosis. Moreover, CEC, as well as CD, is associated with HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 phenotype and genotype. The progressive growth and late occurrence of CC before beginning a GFD, the demonstration of anti-gliadin antibodies in the cerebro-spinal fluid and the association with HLA class II genes, suggest that an immune reaction originating from the jejunal mucosa, triggered by gliadin in gluten intolerance predisposed subjects (HLA phenotype) may be responsible for seizures and CC. Moreover, a long-lasting untreated CD folic acid deficiency may cause calcifications. Probably, CEC is considered a genetic, non-inherited, ethnically and geographically restricted syndrome associated with environmental factors.

Epilepsy, occipital calcifications, and oligosymptomatic celiac disease in childhood

The association of epilepsy, occipital calcifications, and celiac disease has been recognized as a distinct syndrome. The objective of this study was to present the clinical, electrophysiologic, and neuroradiologic features in a series of patients with this syndrome. Thirty-two patients with the constellation of epilepsy, occipital calcifications, and celiac disease were identified in our epilepsy clinic. The mean age was 11 years and the mean length of follow-up was 7.4 years. The 1990 criteria of the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition were used to diagnose celiac disease. The Kruskal-Wallis statistics test was employed with a signficance of P < .05. Thirty-one patients had partial seizures, 21 of them with symptoms related to the occipital lobe. In most patients, the epilepsy was controlled or the seizures were sporadic. Three developed severe epilepsy. Occipital calcifications were present in all cases. Computed tomography in 7 patients showed hypodense areas in the white matter around calcifications, which decreased or disappeared after a period of gluten-free diet in 3 patients. A favorable outcome of epilepsy was detected in patients with the earliest dietary therapy. This study presents the largest series of children with this syndrome outside Italy. White-matter hypodensities surrounding calcifications are rarely reported. A prompt diagnosis of celiac disease might improve the evolution of the epilepsy and may improve cognitive status.

Epilepsy, cerebral calcifications and clinical or subclinical coeliac disease. Course and follow up with gluten-free diet

We have studied four patients (three male, one female, age range 15-25 years) with epilepsy, bilateral occipital calcifications and latent coeliac disease (CD). The epilepsy started at mean age 7 years, in three cases there were partial seizures and in one case generalized seizure. Three cases had symptoms suggesting malabsorptive syndrome during infancy and one case was diagnosed CD before the onset of seizures. In all cases serologic markers of CD were found, especially antiendomisium antibody, and intestinal biopsy indicated several grades of atrophy. The electroencephalograph (EEG) findings pointed to focal abnormalities in three patients and generalized abnormalities in one patient. In all cases computer tomography (CT) showed bilateral, almost symmetrical occipital calcifications in the cortical subcortical layers. The enhanced CT were unremarkable and magnetic resonance images (MRI) were normal. After diagnosis of CD, all patients followed a gluten-free diet and in three patients a significant reduction in seizure frequency was observed. CD should be ruled out in all cases of epilepsy, cerebral calcifications of unexplained origin and malabsorption syndrome in infancy.

Celiac disease and epilepsy in pediatric patients

Among 783 patients referred to our institute with different types of seizures as presenting symptom, systematic evaluation of antigliadin and antiendomysial antibodies in the serum has identified nine in whom jejunal biopsy has subsequently confirmed the diagnosis of celiac disease (CD). In three of them brain imaging showed the presence of calcified areas in the occipital region. They had complex partial seizures (CPS), associated in two with transient episodes of blindness. In another patient with CPS and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) progressive multifocal cerebral calcifications were noted. In the other six patients with CPS and/or GTCS cerebral calcifications were absent. Symptoms of CD in all these cases were either not previously taken into account, or they were very mild or completely absent. In a group of 36 patients with clinically manifest CD, regular follow-up, and good compliance with the dietary regimen, no clinical seizures were reported. The pathogenetic mechanism and the relationship between epilepsy and an early diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease are discussed.

Parietal and occipital lobe epilepsy: a review

There has been considerable recent interest in frontal lobe epileptic syndromes, and less attention paid to occipital and parietal epilepsies. The occipital and parietal lobes have arbitrary anatomical borders. The prinicpal seizure symptomatology includes somatosensory (paresthetic, painful, thermal, sexual, apraxia, disturbances of body image); visual (amaurotic, elementary and complex hallucinations, illusions) and other phenomena (anosognosia, apraxia, acalculia, alexia, aphemia, confusional states, gustatory, vertiginous, adversive, oculoclonic and eyelid flutter). The seizure symptoms are of varying localizing and lateralizing value and seizure discharges may spread rapidly and perceived symptoms may reflect secondary spread rather than the primary site of seizure onset. Recognized parietal and occipital epilepsy syndromes include benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes, benign epilepsy of childhood with parietal evoked spikes, benign occipital epilepsy of childhood, migraine/epilepsy syndromes, and epilepsy with bilateral occipital calcification. In addition, occipital and parietal epilepsy may be on the basis of any underlying structural lesion. There is frequently a poor correlation between clinical and EEG features. MRI and functional imaging often reveals underlying pathology. There have been no specific trials of different antiepileptic drugs for occipital and parietal seizures. Surgical treatment has its place, with attention to the risk of causing a fixed neurological deficit.

Celiac disease, posterior cerebral calcifications and epilepsy

Ten patients (5 males) affected by epilepsy with cerebral calcifications of unknown etiology mainly located in the posterior regions were subjected to a battery of tests including an intestinal biopsy. Our aim was to establish whether or not the patients also suffered from celiac disease. Celiac diseases was found in 6 patients. This result and the individual cases reported in the literature suggest that this triad of diseases (celiac disease, posterior cerebral calcifications and epilepsy) are casually related. The same HLA phenotype was found in all 10 patients, i.e., including the cases without celiac disease, suggesting an underlying disorder of the immune system. Our results emphasize that particular attention should be paid to a search for celiac disease in all patients with epilepsy and posterior cerebral calcifications.

Growing bilateral occipital calcifications and epilepsy

Recently presented data have allowed us to detect an increasing number of cases which present bilateral occipital calcifications and epilepsy or migraine. They have been indicated for the most part to have atypical forms of Sturge-Weber disease without facial nevus flammeus. Two pediatric patients are dealt with here, who, while presenting some differences from the electroclinical point of view, are characterized by typical cortico-subcortical bilateral occipital growing calcifications. Generally, other authors consider the first phase of this syndrome to comprise benign development; only in a second phase does worsening of the fits follow, as well as a bad prognosis. On the contrary, in our case up to now, the patients have been well; the seizures are under control with AEDs and EEG has not worsened, in spite of growing occipital calcifications.

Bilateral cerebral occipital calcifications and migraine-like headache

Computed tomography scanning in two young patients with recurrent, pulsating, migraine-like headache showed parieto-occipital calcifications. One patient presented with an atypical form of the Sturge-Weber syndrome, and the other with celiac disease and folic acid deficiency. The clinical features were analyzed and compared with those in other cases reported in the recent literature which have shown bioccipital calcifications but no cutaneous angiomas, sometimes associated with visual and/or intelligence deficit and epilepsy. Finally, the possible connection between cerebral calcifications and headache is discussed.