Adult hemiconvulsive hemiatrophy syndrome: a novel clinicoradiologic disorder in adults

The association of focal motor seizures with cerebral hemiatrophy is a recognised rare paediatric syndrome known as 'hemiconvulsion, hemiatrophy and epilepsy' (HHE). To date, HHE has not been reported in adults. We present four adult patients with striking similarities to HHE, following alcohol withdrawal in chronic alcoholics. We document the imaging findings in the acute and subacute phases, discuss the underlying mechanisms and present a hypothesis regarding the pathophysiology.

Automated summary

This article reports four cases of chronic alcoholics experiencing clinical manifestations similar to 'hemiconvulsion, hemiatrophy and epilepsy' (HHE), a rare pediatric syndrome. These cases occurred after alcohol withdrawal in adults. The imaging findings during the acute and subacute phases are described, the underlying mechanisms are discussed, and a hypothesis regarding the pathophysiology is presented.