MRI IN MOTOR DELAY - IMPORTANT ADJUNCT TO CLASSIFICATION OF CEREBRAL-PALSY

Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed prospectively i n 45 children (ages 3-27 months) with clinically documented motor dela y to evaluate the ability of MRI to determine etiologic factors, to de termine whether myelination correlated with motor delay, and whether t he clinical category corresponded with the imaging findings. Of the 22 children diagnosed clinically as having major motor delay (i.e., cere bral palsy), 77% had magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities. In 23%, etiologic associations were established from MRI alone and in 32% a c linically suspected etiology was supported. No children had myelinatio n delay as the sole abnormality. In 23 children with minor motor delay , only 17% had abnormal scans. Clearly, MRI provided useful informatio n in the majority of children with cerebral palsy; therefore, a classi fication system is proposed in which MRI can be used in conjunction wi th clinical assessment to specify more precisely the etiologic factors in cerebral palsy.