MINOR CEREBRAL ALTERATIONS OBSERVED BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING IN SYNDROMIC CHILDREN WITH MENTAL-RETARDATION

Objective: To evaluate the anomalies of the central nervous system (CN S) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in normal subjects and in syndr omic patients. Methods and material: Seventy-three normal subjects and 50 different syndromic patients with mental retardation (from 3 month s to 16 years) were studied utilizing several morphometric parameters (degree of myelination of the white matter, evaluation of liquoral spa ces, septo-caudate distance, Evans index, Aboulezz method, and length, width and angles of corpus callosum). Results: A high frequency of an omalies of the corpus callosum, the Chiari anomaly and alterations eit her of the white matter or of the ventricular and periencephalic syste m have been observed. Conclusion: The authors point out the importance of cerebral MRI in the study of CNS in patients with malformation syn dromes. The present research, carried out on a large number of both no rmal subjects and patients with malformation syndromes, represents one of the first systematic studies in this field. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scie nce Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.