title: Brain imaging findings and social/emotional problems in Israeli children with neurofibromatosis type 1.
abstract: A potential association between brain MRI findings and social/emotional difficulties in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) was examined. Twenty-eight children with NF1 filled in the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and possible associations between their responses and findings in their brain MRI were sought. T2 bright foci were identified in MRI scans of 24 patients (85 %). There were no associations between the presence of the bright foci in any specific brain region and any of the SDQ scores for the emotional/behavioral measures. Male patients had significantly abnormal SDQ scores and peer problems. Patients with abnormal SDQ scores were younger than those with normal SDQ scores (mean 13.2 years vs 14.3 years, respectively; p = 0.23). A comparison of the scores obtained in ours and in another group of 11 children with NF1 yielded a significant difference between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We believe that the lack of correlation between the MRI findings and the social/emotional parameters of the SDQ is another demonstration of the marked clinical variability characteristic of NF1.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Center and Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, RoniC@clalit.org.il.
authors.forename: Rony
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: Liora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kornreich
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aharoni
authors.forename: Ayelet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Halevy
authors.forename: Avinoam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shuper
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D016514:Genes, Neurofibromatosis 1 / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009456:Neurofibromatosis 1 / Q000523:psychology*; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D057566:Self Report; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires