A COMPARATIVE MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING STUDY OF THE CORPUS-CALLOSUMIN NEUROLOGICALLY NORMAL-CHILDREN AND CHILDREN WITH SPASTIC DIPLEGIA

To determine the extent of brain damage in children with spastic diple gia, we analyzed the true midsagittal magnetic resonance imaging findi ngs for the corpus callosum in 43 children with spastic diplegia and i n 69 neurologically normal children. In the normal children, the thick nesses of the genu, midbody, splenium and the entire corpus callosum w ere found to increase with age, while the ratios of the thickness of t he splenium and of the midbody to the length were constant, regardless of age. Both ratios were significantly reduced in diplegic children a nd the ratio for the splenium was highly correlated with the extent of motor impairment. Assessment of the morphometric changes in the corpu s callosum using magnetic resonance imaging may contribute to the dete rmination of the extent of brain damage in diplegic children.