Aicardi syndrome. A clinicopathologic case report including electron microscopic observations

Abstract

Aicardi syndrome is characterized by infantile spasms, agenesis of the corpus callosum, severe mental retardation, and a characteristic chorioretinopathy with lacunar defects. The authors report on a 2-year-old girl with congenital hydrocephaly who was found unresponsive by the baby-sitter and died shortly thereafter. At autopsy, the histopathologic findings, which were confined to the brain and eyes, were found highly characteristic of AIC. The main abnormalities included agenesis of the corpus callosum, micropolygyria, bilateral papillomas of choroid plexi, bilateral microphthalmia, bilateral hypoplasia of the optic nerves, bilateral colobomas of the juxtapapillaris choroid and optic disc, bilateral total retinal detachment with dysplastic rosettes and chorioretinal lacunae with focal thinning, and atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and choroid. A detailed histopathologic study of the ocular findings and the brain anomalies is presented. The results of scanning electron microscopy of the chorioretinal lacunae demonstrated peculiar papillary proliferations of the retinal pigment epithelium in both eyes.