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Imaging and clinical characteristics of children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility changes in the brain on susceptibility-weighted MRI

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Abstract

Background

Microsusceptibility changes in the brain are well known to correspond with microbleeds or micrometal fragments in adults, but this phenomenon has not been explored well in children.

Objective

To assess imaging and clinical characteristics of children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility changes using susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI).

Materials and methods

Between 2006 and 2008, 12 children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility on SWI without corresponding abnormal signal on conventional MRI were identified and were retrospectively assessed.

Results

The locations of foci of microsusceptibility included the cerebral white matter, basal ganglia, brainstem and cerebellar white matter, without any clear systematic anatomic distribution. CT (n = 5) showed no calcification at the locations corresponding to the microsusceptibility on SWI. Conventional MR imaging showed white matter volume loss (n = 5), delayed myelination (n = 2), acute infarction (n = 1), chronic infarction (n = 1), meningitis (n = 1), slight signal abnormality in the white matter (n = 1) and no abnormal findings (n = 1). Follow-up SWI (n = 3) showed no change of the microsusceptibility foci. Interestingly, all children had a history of heart surgery under extracorporeal circulation for congenital heart disease.

Conclusion

Multiple foci of microsusceptibility can be seen in the brain on SWI in children with congenital heart disease who underwent heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center, 2-138-4 Mutsukawa, Minami-ku, Yokohama, 232-8555, Japan

    Tetsu Niwa, Noriko Aida, Kazutoshi Fujita & Ayako Shishikura

  2. Department of Circulation Medicine, Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan

    Daiki Miyata

  3. Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Tetsu Niwa, Taro Takahara & Thomas C. Kwee

  4. Department of Radiology, Yokohama City University, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan

    Tomio Inoue

Authors
  1. Tetsu Niwa
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  2. Noriko Aida
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  3. Taro Takahara
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  4. Thomas C. Kwee
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  5. Kazutoshi Fujita
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  6. Ayako Shishikura
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  7. Daiki Miyata
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  8. Tomio Inoue
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Correspondence to Tetsu Niwa.

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Niwa, T., Aida, N., Takahara, T. et al. Imaging and clinical characteristics of children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility changes in the brain on susceptibility-weighted MRI. Pediatr Radiol 40, 1657–1662 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-010-1665-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-010-1665-z

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