title: Role of diffusion MRI in diagnosis of spinal cord infarction in children.
abstract: Anterior spinal artery (ASA) infarction is a rare but well-described cause of flaccid paraparesis in adults, presenting with a high thoracic spinothalamic sensory level and preservation of dorsal column function. Careful sensory examination, demonstrating loss of spinothalamic modalities with preservation of dorsal column modalities, supports a clinical diagnosis of ASA infarction. Findings on conventional MRI of the spinal cord are often non-specific, and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is not routinely performed. We describe four children with ASA infarction after minor trauma. DWI was performed in all cases and confirmed the clinical diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Beslow
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Ichord
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Licht
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D020759:Anterior Spinal Artery Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006987:Hypesthesia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D007238:Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply*; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications