Magnetic resonance imaging in diplegic form of cerebral palsy

Eighteen children with diplegic form of cerebral palsy (CP) underwent magne tic resonance imaging (MRI) because of the enlarged occipital horns of both lateral ventricles found on previous computerized tomography (CT). In 16 o f them squint was present. MRI in flow attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR ) and turbo spin echo (TSE) modes (T2 weighted images) best showed white ma tter lesions in occipital areas in all patients with squint, while no white matter changes could be detected in CT (in retrospect), thus proving the s uperiority of MRI in examining CP children. The authors postulate that the hemispheric occipital lesion causing impairment of visual co-ordination may result in squint. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.