International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | January 2023 | Vol 11 | Issue 1 Page 364
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Prahalathan KN et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2023 Jan;11(1):364-368
www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012
Case Report
Case report on tuberous sclerosis: a rare cause of seizure
Kathir Nilavan Prahalathan
1
*, Sowmika Sureshkumar
1
, Preethi Putti Reddy Subramani
Reddy
1
, Nawaf Abdulla
1
, Divya Venkatesan
1
, Balakrishnan Ramasamy
2
INTRODUCTION
The tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is one of the
hereditary causes of epilepsy. Epilepsy in TSC is
characterized by early onset, a variety of seizure patterns,
and intractability.
1
The progression of seizures in adults
with TSC is poorly understood. In majority of the cases,
the prevalent neurological symptom of TSC is seizures,
which affect more than 80% of TSC patients.
2
They are
most common in infancy and childhood, but they can also
begin in adults. Seizures persist in a substantial number
of patients after pharmacological and surgical treatment,
making management difficult. This report summarizes
the clinical recommendations for the management of
TSC-associated epilepsy.
CASE REPORT
A 19-year-old male from a southern district in Tamil
Nadu was presented with the history of generalized tonic-
clonic seizure (GTCS) followed by loss of consciousness
and presence of hyper pigmentation papules in bilateral
face. He had 2 episodes of GTCS two days before
hospital admission. There was no family history of
epilepsy. In past, he had multiple hospital admissions for
the same reason and was on antiepileptic drug since the
age of seven years with poor adherence. In view of the
history of GTCS and cutaneous findings, he underwent
further evaluation to identify the aetiology. Patient
interview was done which revealed the following details.
At five years of age, he had head injury and treated with
cold compression. At seven years of age, patient showed
symptoms like sudden unresponsiveness and starring for
1
Department of Pharmacy Practice, PSG College of Pharmacy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
2
Department of Neurology, PSG College of Pharmacy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Received: 17 November 2022
Revised: 30 November 2022
Accepted: 01 December 2022
*Correspondence:
Dr. Kathir Nilavan Prahalathan,
E-mail: kathirnilavandev99@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
We report a case of tuberous sclerosis in a 19 years old teenage patient with generalized tonic-clonic seizure. MRI
brain showed linear CSF filled structure with surrounding gliosis extending from the frontal horn of right lateral
ventricle to the pial surface of right frontal lobe-postoperative change. Multiple small T2/ FLAIR hyper-intensities
without diffusion restriction in bilateral frontal temporal parietal and left occipital lobes, predominantly involving the
cortex and sub-cortical white matter and small focus of calcification in left parietal peri-ventricular white matter. He
was treated with valproic acid, sodium valproate and levetiracetam and showed prompt improvement. Epilepsy in
tuberous sclerosis complex is a group of genetic disorders manifesting in childhood. Secondary causes of tuberous
sclerosis should be suspected when there is abrupt onset in adulthood. The case highlights an uncommon case of
epilepsy in tuberous sclerosis in young adult patient.
Keywords: Tuberous sclerosis, Seizures, Adenoma sebaceum, Shagreen patches
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20223664