A rare case of hypomelanosis of Ito with enlargement of Virchow-Rabin spaces in a 10-year-old child with symptoms of seizures

Hypomelanosis of Ito (HI) syndrome is a complex neuro-dermatological disorder that affects many organs in the body, including the skin, brain, eyes, and skeleton.

This disease has been reported to present with seizures in a few rare cases.

Seizures are seen in all age groups but are more common in children and the elderly.

Virchow-Robin spaces (VRSs) are spaces around small arteries and the arteries that pierce the surface of the brain and are spread throughout the rest of the brain.

As individuals age, the number and size of VRSs increase.

A relationship between dilated VRSs and neuropsychiatric disorders has been observed above a 2 mm threshold.

The patient is a 10-year-old child who was referred to the neurology ward of Imam Hossein Children’s Hospital in Isfahan about 2.5 months ago due to seizures.

The last seizure occurred four days before the visit, and the patient was sent for a brain computed tomography (CT) scan, which revealed diffuse bilateral hypopigmented lesions in the brain’s white matter.

The results of the para-clinical tests were relatively unremarkable.

In the early stages of hospitalization, the child received treatment such as fluid therapy and anticonvulsant drugs to stabilize their vital condition.

The patient’s para-clinical tests, including brain CT, electroencephalogram, complete blood count, liver function test, and magnetic resonance imaging, showed the presence of HI syndrome and bilateral diffuse hypopigmented lesions in the white matter.