title: Acute infantile bilateral striatal necrosis: single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging and review.
abstract: Acute infantile bilateral striatal necrosis is a rarely described acute neurological syndrome associated with radiological findings. Its etiology and pathogenic mechanisms are unknown. Clinically, the syndrome usually follows respiratory illnesses and presents with an array of neurological findings, including axial ataxia, grimacing, mutism, head nodding, and high-pitched cry. This study follows a child with acute infantile bilateral striatal necrosis both clinically and radiologically. In addition, for the first time, the authors describe the serial findings of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) from onset of illness through 20 months. Their findings indicate an initial insult apparent on both magnetic resonance imaging and SPECT localized to the basal ganglia, which, although improved over time, does not fully regress. The residual lesion on SPECT was clinically associated with only mild attention deficit disorder and no motor pathology. The authors review the published literature concerning acute infantile bilateral striatal necrosis and suggest possible mechanisms of this poorly understood and probably underreported condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics C, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel. nzevit@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Noam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zevit
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
authors.forename: Liora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kornreich
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Straussberg
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000367:Age Factors; D001259:Ataxia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005334:Fever / Q000150:complications; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009155:Mutism / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications; D013577:Syndrome; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies