Abstract
Background Susceptibility-weighted imaging is a relatively new magnetic resonance imaging sequence that can identify lesions of multiple sclerosis in adults. This study was designed to determine if susceptibility-weighted imaging is a useful discriminator between children who develop multiple sclerosis and children with monophasic acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Methods Eighteen children who presented with acute central nervous system demyelination and had a brain magnetic resonance imaging study including susceptibility-weighted imaging within 6 months of the first clinical attack were studied. Final diagnosis was based on international consensus definitions. Brain lesions detected on the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence were assessed for abnormal signal on susceptibility-weighted imaging. The burden of susceptibility abnormalities was then analyzed for differences between the multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis groups. Results Eight patients had a final diagnosis of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and ten had multiple sclerosis. Twenty-two percent of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery lesions were identified on susceptibility-weighted imaging. The percentage of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery lesions identified on susceptibility-weighted imaging differed between the multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis groups (P = 0.04). The median percentage (minimum-maximum) of lesions identified on susceptibility-weighted imaging in the multiple sclerosis group was 0.22 (0-0.68) and in the acute disseminated encephalomyelitis group was 0.0 (0-0.17). Conclusion Susceptibility-weighted imaging may be a useful technique in differentiating acute disseminated encephalomyelitis from multiple sclerosis at initial presentation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 36-41 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Pediatric Neurology |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2015 |
Keywords
- ADEM
- acute disseminated encephalomyelitis
- multiple sclerosis
- pediatric demyelination
- susceptibility-weighted imaging