Asperger's syndrome with unusual cerebral pathology: Case report and literature review

Abstract

A case of Asperger's syndrome with unusual cerebral pathological changes is reported. A 22-year-old male had been having diagnostic Asperger's syndrome since the age of eight and had epilepsy during the past two years. Radiological studies revealed a focal intra-axial cortical and subcortical cerebral lesion with hyper-intensity and non-enhancing contrast in the left frontal lobe. Histological and immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that the lesion consisted of cortical laminar disorganization, neuronal dysmorphism and increased heterotopic neurons in sub-cortical white matter. To our knowledge, this is the first case of Asperger's syndrome with focal cerebral pathological abnormalities rather than mini-columnar changes and the gyrial malformation reported in the literature.