DIFFUSE BILATERAL THALAMIC ASTROCYTOMAS AS EXAMINED SERIALLY BY MRI

We report the case of a 13-year-old girl with diffuse bilateral thalam ic astrocytomas. Incoordination was observed at the onset. Cranial com puted tomography (CT) showed enlarged thalami, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed these lesions to be symmetrically enlarged with high intensity on the T2-weighted image. Owing to these atypical find ings in the neuroimaging studies, we had difficulty in making the corr ect diagnosis of a brain tumor. After the diagnosis of diffuse bilater al thalamic astrocytomas was obtained, we performed hyperfractionated radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy, Radiation therapy was effective for a while, but the girl's condition deteriorated again and she died 8 months after admission. Although diffuse bilateral thalamic astrocy tomas are difficult to diagnose because they do not resemble most othe r neoplasms on neuro-imaging studies, pediatricians should keep this e ntity in mind In order to arrive at a precise and prompt diagnosis.