CRANIAL MR IN WILSON DISEASE - ABNORMAL WHITE-MATTER IN EXTRAPYRAMIDAL AND PYRAMIDAL TRACTS

PURPOSE: To describe abnormal white matter in the brain on MR in Wilso n disease and to compare with anatomic location of white matter tracts . METHODS: Forty-six patients with Wilson disease were examined. Axial T1-weighted inversion-recovery, axial T2-weighted spin-echo, and coro nal T2-weighted gradient-echo MR images were performed. Imaging studi es were compared with clinical data. RESULTS: Seventeen patients showe d abnormalities in the region coinciding with the following white matt er tracts: corticospinal tract (24%, n = 11), dentatorubrothalamic tra ct (24%, n = 11), and pontocerebellar tract (17%, n = 8). CONCLUSION: Abnormal extrapyramidal and pyramidal white matter tracts are part of the neuroimaging spectrum of Wilson disease. No significant correlatio n was found with neurologic groups and individual white matter tracts affected.