title: [Diagnostic imaging of the brain of blind and visually handicapped young children].
abstract: In infants with delayed or absent visual maturation a neuroradiological investigation of the brain is commonly performed in addition to neurophysiological examinations. We report our preliminary experience with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI allows a detailed anatomical assessment and an evaluation of the myelination, including the optic radiation. Following severe perinatal hypoxic-ischemic injury periventricular leukomalacia in the parieto-occipital region was a common finding. The findings in infants with or without ocular abnormalities were heterogeneous, including normal findings, nonspecific delays of cerebral myelination as well as several malformations (such as corpus callosum hypoplasia, Aicardi syndrome, septo-optic dysplasia, migration disorders). In the individual case the neuroradiological findings do not allow to draw conclusions to the visual function and prognosis. In children with Leber congenital retinal amaurosis we have observed a normal myelination of the optic radiation. In many cases, particularly if a syndromic diagnosis is reached, neuro-imaging gives useful information for prognostic and genetic counselling.
authors.affiliation: Universitäs-Kinderklinik Zürich.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boltshauser
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steinlin
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thun-Hohenstein
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bänziger
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pezzoli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000473:pathology
vernacular_title: Bildgebende Untersuchungen des Gehirns bei blinden und sehbehinderten Kleinkindern.