Early Onset Epilepsy Caused by Low-Grade Epilepsy-Associated Tumors and Focal Meningeal Involvement

Luca De Palma; Chiara Pepi; Alessandro De Benedictis; Nicola Pietrafusa; Angela Mastronuzzi; Antonella Cacchione; Giusy Carfì-Pavia; Camilla Rossi-Espagnet; Francesca Diomedi-Camassei; Sabrina Rossi; Antonio Napolitano; Andrea Carai; Giovanna Stefania Colafati; Daniela Longo; Paolo Curatolo; Federico Vigevano; Carlo Efisio Marras; Nicola Specchio

doi:10.3390/brainsci10100752

Brain Sciences (Oct 2020)

Early Onset Epilepsy Caused by Low-Grade Epilepsy-Associated Tumors and Focal Meningeal Involvement

Luca De Palma,
Chiara Pepi,
Alessandro De Benedictis,
Nicola Pietrafusa,
Angela Mastronuzzi,
Antonella Cacchione,
Giusy Carfì-Pavia,
Camilla Rossi-Espagnet,
Francesca Diomedi-Camassei,
Sabrina Rossi,
Antonio Napolitano,
Andrea Carai,
Giovanna Stefania Colafati,
Daniela Longo,
Paolo Curatolo,
Federico Vigevano,
Carlo Efisio Marras,
Nicola Specchio

Affiliations

Luca De Palma: Rare and Complex Epilepsies, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, 00165 Rome, Italy
Chiara Pepi: Rare and Complex Epilepsies, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, 00165 Rome, Italy
Alessandro De Benedictis: Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Nicola Pietrafusa: Rare and Complex Epilepsies, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, 00165 Rome, Italy
Angela Mastronuzzi: Neuro-Oncology Unit, Department of Onco-Hematology, Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Antonella Cacchione: Neuro-Oncology Unit, Department of Onco-Hematology, Cell and Gene Therapy, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Giusy Carfì-Pavia: Rare and Complex Epilepsies, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, 00165 Rome, Italy
Camilla Rossi-Espagnet: Neuroradiology Unit, Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Francesca Diomedi-Camassei: Pathology Unit—Department of Laboratories, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Sabrina Rossi: Pathology Unit—Department of Laboratories, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Antonio Napolitano: Medical Physics Department, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Andrea Carai: Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Giovanna Stefania Colafati: Neuroradiology Unit, Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Daniela Longo: Neuroradiology Unit, Imaging Department, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Paolo Curatolo: Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Systems Medicine Department, Tor Vergata University, 00133 Rome, Italy
Federico Vigevano: Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, 00165 Rome, Italy
Carlo Efisio Marras: Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Nicola Specchio: Rare and Complex Epilepsies, Department of Neurological Science, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, 00165 Rome, Italy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10100752
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10, no. 10
p. 752

Abstract

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Background: Low-grade epilepsy-associated neuroepithelial tumors (LEATs) are a frequent etiology in pediatric patients with epilepsy undergoing surgery. Objective: To identify differences in clinical and post-surgical follow-up between patients with focal meningeal involvement (MI) and those without MI within our cohort of pediatric patients with LEATs. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all pediatric patients (Results: We identified 37 patients: five with MI and 32 without. Half of patients (19) were drug sensitive at surgery; similar between groups. The group with MI differed mainly for age of epilepsy-onset (0.6 vs. 7.0 y) but not for epilepsy duration (0.9 vs. 1.5 y). Post-surgery radiological follow-up (median 4.0 y; IQR 2.8–5.0 y) did not indicate disease progression. Seizure outcome was excellent in both groups, with 34 patients overall being both drug- and seizure-free. Conclusions: Our study identified a new subgroup of LEATs with focal MI and excellent post-surgical outcome. Moreover, this highlights the effectiveness of early surgery in pediatric LEATs.

Published in Brain Sciences

ISSN: 2076-3425 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/

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