title: Delayed diffuse neurodegeneration after cerebral concussion.
abstract: A 27-month-old girl developed severe diffuse neurological disability that was progressive between 2 weeks and 2 years after a closed head injury. After stabilization of her disability for 1 year, mild improvement in neurological function began in the third year after the concussion. Multiple imaging studies of the neural axis remained normal during a 5-year period after the initial injury. Delayed and diffuse trauma-induced neuronal apoptosis is a pathogenic mechanism that could explain this unusual neurodegenerative syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology, Medicine, and Community Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV 26506-9180, USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Riggs
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000150:complications*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D020234:Gait Ataxia / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000209:etiology*