Imaging and clinical characteristics of children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility changes in the brain on susceptibility-weighted MRI.
BACKGROUND
Microsusceptibility changes in the brain are well known to correspond with microbleeds or micrometal fragments in adults, but this phenomenon has not been explored well in children.


OBJECTIVE
To assess imaging and clinical characteristics of children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility changes using susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI).


METHODS
Between 2006 and 2008, 12 children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility on SWI without corresponding abnormal signal on conventional MRI were identified and were retrospectively assessed.


RESULTS
The locations of foci of microsusceptibility included the cerebral white matter, basal ganglia, brainstem and cerebellar white matter, without any clear systematic anatomic distribution. CT (n=5) showed no calcification at the locations corresponding to the microsusceptibility on SWI. Conventional MR imaging showed white matter volume loss (n=5), delayed myelination (n=2), acute infarction (n=1), chronic infarction (n=1), meningitis (n=1), slight signal abnormality in the white matter (n=1) and no abnormal findings (n=1). Follow-up SWI (n=3) showed no change of the microsusceptibility foci. Interestingly, all children had a history of heart surgery under extracorporeal circulation for congenital heart disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Multiple foci of microsusceptibility can be seen in the brain on SWI in children with congenital heart disease who underwent heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation.
Niwa
Tetsu
T
Department of Radiology, Kanagawa Children's Medical Center, 2-138-4 Mutsukawa, Minami-ku, Yokohama, 232-8555, Japan. tniwa@kcmc.jp
Aida
Noriko
N
Takahara
Taro
T
Kwee
Thomas C
TC
Fujita
Kazutoshi
K
Shishikura
Ayako
A
Miyata
Daiki
D
Inoue
Tomio
T
D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies