title: CT and MRI imaging of the brain in MELAS syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MELAS syndrome (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, stroke-like episodes) is a rare, multisystem disorder which belongs to a group of mitochondrial metabolic diseases. As other diseases in this group, it is inherited in the maternal line.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this report, we discussed a case of a 10-year-old girl with clinical and radiological picture of MELAS syndrome. We would like to describe characteristic radiological features of MELAS syndrome in CT, MRI and MR spectroscopy of the brain and differential diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rarity of this disorder and the complexity of its clinical presentation make MELAS patients among the most difficult to diagnose. Brain imaging studies require a wide differential diagnosis, primarily to distinguish between MELAS and ischemic stroke. Particularly helpful are the MRI and MR spectroscopy techniques.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology Department of Public Hospital, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pauli
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zarzycki
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krzyształowski
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walecka
keywords: MELAS; differentiation; encephalomyopathy; mitochondrial disease; stroke-like lesions