"How much brain is really necessary?" A case of complex cerebral malformation and its clinical course.

The clinical manifestations of cerebral malformations are complex and vary from mild retardation to massive disabilities. A review of the literature suggests that the developmental outcome in these patients depends on the extension, location, and combination of such anomalies. However, the authors present the encouraging clinical course of a girl with a complex cerebral malformation. Despite the severe imaging findings, at the present age of 34 months, the patient developed only a mild psychomotor retardation. This case illustrates that the morphological classification of cerebral malformations does not allow one to predict with certainty whether a child will develop impaired motor and/or higher cognitive functions.