H. Seidel et al., MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING AND NEUROLOGICAL EVALUATION AFTER TREATMENT WITH HIGH-DOSE METHOTREXATE FOR ACUTE LYMPHOCYTIC-LEUKEMIA IN YOUNG-CHILDREN, Acta paediatrica, 85(4), 1996, pp. 450-453
This study evaluates the occurrence of permanent cerebral white matter
changes and neurological abnormalities in children treated at a young
age for acute lymphocytic leukaemia. Our pilot treatment protocol did
not include central nervous system irradiation, but intrathecal metho
trexate and high-dose methotrexate infusions followed by very intensiv
e folinic acid rescue. We examined 12 children in complete remission a
nd off therapy 18 months to 9.5 years after their last methotrexate in
fusion. They were below 5 years of age at diagnosis and therefore expe
cted to be at special risk of neurotoxic sequelae. Cerebral magnetic r
esonance imaging in the 11 cases thus evaluated did not reveal white m
atter abnormalities or other signal changes as signs of permanent trea
tment-related sequelae. We did not observe any pathological clinical n
eurological findings likely due to methotrexate.