title: Magnetic resonance studies of brain lesions in patients with Kawasaki disease.
abstract: We evaluated brain lesions in patients with coronary arterial lesions (CAL) as a complication of Kawasaki disease (KD) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Among 47 patients who underwent coronary angiography for the evaluation of CAL due to KD at Kyushu University Hospital from April 1996 to September 2004, 24 patients were evaluated prospectively by brain MRI and MRA 0.1-21.2 years after the onset of KD. Although most patients had irritability or lethargy, none of them had significant neurological symptoms or signs during the acute phase, except one who showed neck stiffness. In one patient with no apparent neurological symptoms out of the 24 patients, brain MRI and MRA revealed right cerebellar infarction and obliteration of the right posterior inferior cerebellar artery, respectively. These results revealed the presence of cerebrovascular lesion in one of the 24 KD patients with CAL and suggested the need to consider the possibility of brain lesions in severe cases of KD with or without neurological symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. mune@pediatr.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muneuchi
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kusuhara
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanaya
authors.forename: Takuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furuno
authors.forename: Ryutaro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kira
authors.forename: Futoshi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mihara
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies