Epilepsy and Intracranial Vascular Malformations: A Possible MissingLink!

Abstract

The development of brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) remains enigmatic. Their usual presentation with hemorrhage could be a devastating event. Their second mode of presentation; Seizure poses a mechanistic, diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. For the most part, vascular development and flow abnormalities are implicated in the development of seizures in the context of brain AVMs. Proposed is a hypothesis in which common cortical and vascular development pathways lead to perturbation of the vascular phenotype resulting in arteriovenous shunting while simultaneously leading to focal form of cortical dysplasia conducive of seizure.