title: The use of neuroimaging in the diagnosis of mitochondrial disease.
abstract: Mutations in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA impacting mitochondrial function result in disease manifestations ranging from early death to abnormalities in all major organ systems and to symptoms that can be largely confined to muscle fatigue. The definitive diagnosis of a mitochondrial disorder can be difficult to establish. When the constellation of symptoms is suggestive of mitochondrial disease, neuroimaging features may be diagnostic and suggestive, can help direct further workup, and can help to further characterize the underlying brain abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging changes may be nonspecific, such as atrophy (both general and involving specific structures, such as cerebellum), more suggestive of particular disorders such as focal and often bilateral lesions confined to deep brain nuclei, or clearly characteristic of a given disorder such as stroke-like lesions that do not respect vascular boundaries in mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episode (MELAS). White matter hyperintensities with or without associated gray matter involvement may also be observed. Across patients and discrete disease subtypes (e.g., MELAS, Leigh syndrome, etc.), patterns of these features are helpful for diagnosis. However, it is also true that marked variability in expression occurs in all mitochondrial disease subtypes, illustrative of the complexity of the disease process. The present review summarizes the role of neuroimaging in the diagnosis and characterization of patients with suspected mitochondrial disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiology, Seattle Children's Hospital/University of Washington, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
authors.forename: Seth D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Dennis W W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Gisele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ishak
authors.forename: Andrea L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gropman
authors.forename: Russell P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Saneto
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000032:analysis; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D028361:Mitochondrial Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D010725:Phosphocreatine / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D010725:Phosphocreatine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; C000179:N-acetylaspartate