Recent studies suggested a possible association between malformations of cortical development and microvascular density. In this study we aimed to further elucidate the relation between microvascular density and cortical developmental abnormalities in a cohort of 97 patients with epilepsy and histologically proven mild malformation of cortical development (mMCD), focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) or tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Surgical tissue samples were analyzed with quantitative measures of vessel density, T‐cell response, microglial activation and myelin content. Subsequently, the results were compared to an age‐ and localization matched control group. We observed an increase in microvasculature in white matter of TSC cortical tubers, which is linked to inflammatory response. No increase was seen in mMCD or FCD subtypes compared to controls. In mMCD/FCD and tubers, lesional cortex and white matter showed increased vascular density compared to perilesional tissues. Moreover, cortical vessel density increased with longer epilepsy duration and older age at surgery while in controls it decreased with age. Our findings suggest for that the increase in white matter vascular density might be pathology‐specific rather than a consequence of ongoing epileptic activity. Increased cortical vessel density with age and with longer epilepsy duration in mMCD/FCD's and tubers, however, could be a consequence of seizures.

中文翻译：

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97例皮质发育轻度畸形、局灶性皮质发育不良或TSC相关皮质结节患者切除组织血管密度变化

最近的研究表明皮质发育畸形与微血管密度之间可能存在关联。在这项研究中，我们旨在进一步阐明 97 名癫痫患者和经组织学证实的轻度皮质发育畸形 (mMCD)、局灶性皮质发育不良 (FCD) 或结节性硬化症 (TSC) 患者的微血管密度与皮质发育异常之间的关系. 手术组织样本通过血管密度、T细胞反应、小胶质细胞活化和髓鞘含量的定量测量进行分析。随后，将结果与年龄和定位匹配的对照组进行比较。我们观察到 TSC 皮质块茎白质中微血管系统的增加，这与炎症反应有关。与对照相比，mMCD 或 FCD 亚型未见增加。在 mMCD/FCD 和块茎中，与病灶周围组织相比，病灶皮层和白质显示出增加的血管密度。此外，皮质血管密度随着癫痫持续时间的延长和手术年龄的增加而增加，而在对照组中随着年龄的增长而减少。我们的研究结果表明，白质血管密度的增加可能是病理学特异性的，而不是持续癫痫活动的结果。然而，随着年龄的增长和 mMCD/FCD 和块茎的癫痫持续时间延长，皮质血管密度增加可能是癫痫发作的结果。我们的研究结果表明，白质血管密度的增加可能是病理学特异性的，而不是持续癫痫活动的结果。然而，随着年龄的增长和 mMCD/FCD 和块茎的癫痫持续时间延长，皮质血管密度增加可能是癫痫发作的结果。我们的研究结果表明，白质血管密度的增加可能是病理学特异性的，而不是持续癫痫活动的结果。然而，在 mMCD/FCD 和块茎中，随着年龄和癫痫持续时间的延长，皮质血管密度增加，这可能是癫痫发作的结果。