National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Porencephaly


Porencephaly is a rare condition that affects the central nervous system. People with porencephaly develop fluid-filled cysts or cavities in the brain either before or shortly after birth. The severity of the condition and the associated signs and symptoms vary significantly based on the size, location, and number of cysts. Common features include developmental delay, reduced muscle tone (hypotonia), seizures, macrocephaly (unusually large head size), spastic hemiplegia, speech problems, delayed growth, and intellectual disability. Porencephaly is usually the result of damage from infection or stroke after birth. In these cases, the condition occurs sporadically in people with no family history of the condition.[1][2] There is an inherited form of the condition called familial porencephaly, which is caused by changes (mutations) in the COL4A1 or COL4A2 genes and is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner.[3][4] Treatment is based on the signs and symptoms present in each person and may include physical therapy and medication for seizures.[1][2]
Last updated: 3/15/2016

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

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Medical Terms Other Names
Learn More:
HPO ID
80%-99% of people have these symptoms
Porencephalic cyst
Cavity within brain
0002132
Spasticity
Involuntary muscle stiffness, contraction, or spasm
0001257
Ventriculomegaly 0002119
30%-79% of people have these symptoms
Cerebral palsy 0100021
Hemiplegia/hemiparesis
Paralysis or weakness of one side of body
0004374
Intellectual disability
Mental deficiency
Mental retardation
Mental retardation, nonspecific
Mental-retardation
[ more ] 		0001249
Seizure 0001250
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

Related diseases are conditions that have similar signs and symptoms. A health care provider may consider these conditions in the table below when making a diagnosis. Please note that the table may not include all the possible conditions related to this disease.

Conditions with similar signs and symptoms from Orphanet
Differential diagnoses include arachnoid cyst, schizencephaly, ependymal cyst, encephalomalacia, hydranencephaly, and other COL4A1 or COL4A2 related diseases, including childhood stroke, CADASIL and retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukodystrophy.
Visit the Orphanet disease page for more information.

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Porencephaly. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

    Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

In-Depth Information

  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) lists the subtypes and associated genes for Porencephaly in a table called Phenotypic Series. Each entry in OMIM includes a summary of related medical articles. It is meant for health care professionals and researchers. OMIM is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Porencephaly. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know.

  1. NINDS Porencephaly Information Page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. June 2015; http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/porencephaly/porencephaly.htm.
  2. Sporadic Porencephaly. NORD. 2013; http://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/sporadic-porencephaly/.
  3. PORENCEPHALY 1. OMIM. February 2016; http://www.omim.org/entry/175780?search=porencephaly&highlight=porencephaly.
  4. PORENCEPHALY 2. OMIM. February 2012; http://www.omim.org/entry/614483?search=porencephaly&highlight=porencephaly.