[Ulegyria and epilepsy]

Ulegyria is a derangement of the architecture of the cerebral cortex characterised by the presence of multiple small cerebral convolutions. It is caused by hypoxic-ischaemic damage of these convolutions in the perinatal period. This differentiates it from polimcrogyria which is due to damage during the period of late neuronal migration or early postmigration. The clinical findings vary from cases with hardly any symptoms to more severe forms which show psychomotor retardation, convulsive crises and/or motor defects. We describe the case of a 21-year-old patient who suffered anoxia during delivery, with a very low Apgar score, who presented with epileptic crises in childhood (motor foci which became generalized) with good anticonvulsant control. On examination, there was a slight mental handicap. On magnetic resonance an uligyric area was seen in the occipital cortex. High resolution magnetic resonance allows the diagnosis of this type of change in the cerebral cortex in the living patient since the differences between grey and white matter can be distinguished better than with computerized tomography.