Focal cortical dysplasia

What it means

A type of malformation of cortical development that primarily affects areas of neocortex. It can be identified on conventional magnetic resonance imaging as focal cortical thickening, abnormal gyration, and blurring between gray and white matter, often associated with clusters of heterotopic neurons.

Focal cortical dysplasia is one of the most common entities associated with refractory epilepsy, especially in childhood.

Rare diseases that can present with this6

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category