Analysis of Sturge-Weber syndrome: A retrospective study of multiple associated variables

Sturge-Weber syndrome is a congenital vascular disorder characterised by facial capillary malformation (port-wine stain) associated with venous and capillary malformations in the brain and eye. Neurological symptoms and alterations in other locations may also be observed.

This study describes the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and different treatments in a cohort of patients diagnosed with Sturge-Weber syndrome in a tertiary hospital.

This comparative, retrospective and cross-sectional study was conducted by reviewing the medical records of patients diagnosed with Sturge-Weber syndrome between 1998 and 2013.

The study included 13 patients (54% male, 46% female) diagnosed with Sturge-Weber syndrome. The mean age at diagnosis was 15 months. Leptomeningeal angiomatosis was present in 100% of cases: right hemisphere (46%), left hemisphere (38%), and bilateral (15%). Facial angioma was present in 61% of the cases: right (23%), left (38%) and bilateral (7%). Other skin disorders were found in 23% of the cases, including 2 with hemilateral involvement on the side where facial and leptomeningeal angiomatosis was present and one case of generalised cutis marmorata. Ocular disease was found in 77% of patients; the most common conditions were glaucoma (46%), strabismus (23%) and choroidal angioma (23%). Epilepsy was present in 100% of the cases, with partial seizures (simple or complex) being the most frequent (62%). Seizure control was highly variable; 31% of the patients had needed to try more than 3 drugs, 15% 3 drugs, and 31% 2 drugs, while 23% experienced good seizure control with monotherapy. One patient required surgery for epilepsy (left hemispherectomy) and has been seizure-free since then. The most frequent observations in electroencephalograms were spikes, polyspikes, and wave spikes in the lobes affected by leptomeningeal angiomatosis (46%). Other neurological symptoms were hemiparesis (39%), recurrent headaches (39%), stroke-like episodes (23%), psychomotor retardation (46%), and mental retardation (46%). Leptomeningeal calcifications could be seen in 85% of patient MRIs, as well as increased calcification in 70%; 54% of the patients had been treated with aspirin.

There are multiple clinical manifestations of Sturge-Weber syndrome. Being familiar with all of them is vitally important for diagnosing and for monitoring and treating the condition correctly, which will improve the quality of life of these patients.