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AJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

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American Journal of Neuroradiology 27:1924-1926, October 2006
© 2006 American Society of Neuroradiology

Case Report
PEDIATRICS

Persistent Diffusion Abnormalities in the Brain Stem of Three Children with Mitochondrial Diseases

Y. Sakai^a, R. Kira^a, H. Torisu^a, K. Ihara^a, T. Yoshiura^b and T. Hara^a

^a Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
^b Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

Please address correspondence to: Ryutaro Kira, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3–1-one Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan; e-mail: kirari{at}pediatr.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp

SUMMARY: We report 2 children (patients 1 and 2) with Kearns-Sayre syndrome and 1 (patient 3) with Leigh syndrome, who underwent serial diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) studies for 2.8 (patient 1), 4.2 (patient 2), and 1.0 years (patient 3). The DWI revealed the persistent hyperintense signals in the pontine and mesencephalic tegmenta. The apparent diffusion coefficient in the affected regions remained constantly low, suggesting that cytotoxic edema and spongiform degenerations may compose these brain stem lesions.