title: Accelerated myelination associated with venous congestion.
abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging is currently the gold standard in the assessment of brain myelination. The normal pattern of brain myelination conforms to a fixed chronological sequence. Focal accelerated myelination is a usual pathological state and previously has only been associated with Sturge-Weber syndrome. The purpose of our study is to describe alternate causes for accelerated myelination. We retrospectively reviewed serial MR scans, MR angiography, conventional angiography and the clinical progress of three children with accelerated myelination. Two patients with accelerated myelination had an underlying cerebral sinovenous thrombosis. The third patient had Sturge-Weber syndrome. Our study strongly suggests that cerebral venous thrombosis with the consequent restriction of venous outflow could be a key factor in the induction of accelerated myelination. We recommend that in patients with accelerated myelination, the search for an underlying etiology should include careful evaluation of the intracranial vascular pathology, especially cerebral venous thrombosis.
authors.affiliation: Neuroradiology Department, Institut für Neuroradiologie, Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. luciana.porto@kgu.de
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Porto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kieslich
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Zanella
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lanfermann
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002550:Cerebral Veins; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000473:pathology*; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000473:pathology*