Diffusion-weighted imaging shows cytotoxic and vasogenic edema in eclampsia.
In eclampsia, MR imaging shows reversible T2 hyperintensities in a parietal and occipital distribution. Findings on diffusion-weighted images suggest that these abnormalities are areas of vasogenic edema. We describe the presence of both cytotoxic and vasogenic edema, as detected by diffusion-weighted imaging, in a woman with eclampsia. Follow-up MR imaging showed that the regions of cytotoxic edema progressed to cerebral infarction. This case suggests that diffusion-weighted imaging allows the early detection of ischemic infarcts in patients with eclampsia.
Koch
S
S
Department of Neurology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
Rabinstein
A
A
Falcone
S
S
Forteza
A
A
D000328:Adult; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004461:Eclampsia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity