Concurrence among abnormal MRI scans, pathological EEG and intellectual disability in autism spectrum disorder

INTRODUCTION Abnormal MRI scans and pathological EEG are frequent in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), especially with Intellectual Disability (ID). However, little is still known about the concurrence between ID, pathological EEG and abnormal MRI scans in ASD. Our study aimed to evaluate abnormal MRI scans, pathological EEG and their relation with ID in individuals with non-syndromic ASD. METHODS MRI scans and EEG investigations were studied in 100 children and adolescents. Based on recommended clinical screenings, we excluded patients with infectious, metabolic or genetic diseases, or any other neurological symptoms. Mean chronological age was (2-24 years old). EEG investigations were recorded according to 10–20 system during sleep and MRI scans were acquired with a 1.5-Tesla Signa GE. RESULTS 68% of individuals had ID, while 32% had typical intellectual development. Moreover, 45% of individuals showed pathological EEG and 46% had abnormal MRI scans. The most frequent MRI abnormalities were cortical dysplasia/atrophy (37%), bilateral periventricular leukomalacia (32.6%), cystic formations (13%), distended optic nerve sheaths (6.5%), vascular malformations (6.5%) and basal ganglia malformation (4.3%). Furthermore, 56.5% individuals had pathological EEG coupled with abnormal MRI scans and 22.2% exhibited pathological EEG, abnormal MRI scans and severe ID. CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION In line with two previous studies (1,2), our results indicate a considerable percentage of patients with EEG abnormalities, ID and abnormal MRI scans. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Authors acknowledge Azienda Ospedaliera Botzu (AOB), Cagliari and patients for their kind cooperation. REFERENCES 1) Stanfield A. et al., 2008 2) Ünal Ö. et al., 2009