Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy lactic acidosis and strokelike episodes mimicking occipital idiopathic epilepsy
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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Modeling Mitochondrial Disease Using Brain Organoids: A Focus on Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-like Episodes
Published on: October 10, 2025
Elisabetta Cesaroni1, Marina Scarpelli, Nelia Zamponi
1Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Polytechnic University of the Marche, Ancona, Italy. celisabetta@libero.it
Abstract:
We report on a 19-year-old man with a 9-year history of occipital seizures characterized by deviation of the eyes and tonic ipsilateral turning of the head during sleep, initially diagnosed as idiopathic childhood occipital epilepsy, Gastaut type. The eventual development of status epilepticus, associated with a T(1) hypointense as well as T(2), fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, and diffusion-weighted hyperintense brain lesion led to pathologic and genetic testing that identified a A3243G mitochondrial DNA point mutation associated with mitochondrial, encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and strokelike episodes. This case emphasizes that occipital epileptic seizures can be the only presenting and long-lasting sign in patients with mitochondrial, encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and strokelike episodes.
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Seizures: Classification
Seizures are typically classified into two main categories: focal and generalized seizures.
Focal Seizures
Focal seizures originate from specific regions of the brain. These seizures are further sub-classified into two types:
