title: MR imaging of minamata disease: qualitative and quantitative analysis.
abstract: Minamata disease (MD), a result of methylmercury poisoning, is a neurological illness caused by ingestion of contaminated seafood. We evaluated MR findings of patients with MD qualitatively and quantitatively. Magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 Tesla was performed in seven patients with MD and in eight control subjects. All of our patients showed typical neurological findings like sensory disturbance, constriction of the visual fields, and ataxia. In the quantitative image analysis, inferior and middle parts of the cerebellar vermis and cerebellar hemispheres were significantly atrophic in comparison with the normal controls. There were no significant differences in measurements of the basis pontis, middle cerebellar peduncles, corpus callosum, or cerebral hemispheres between MD and the normal controls. The calcarine sulci and central sulci were significantly dilated, reflecting atrophy of the visual cortex and postcentral cortex, respectively. The lesions located in the calcarine area, cerebellum, and postcentral gyri were related to three characteristic manifestations of this disease, constriction of the visual fields, ataxia, and sensory disturbance, respectively. MR imaging has proved to be useful in evaluating the CNS abnormalities of methylmercury poisoning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Korogi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sumi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shinzato
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okajima
mesh_terms: D001259:Ataxia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology