Intellectual prognosis of the Dandy-Walker malformation in children: the importance of vermian lobulation.

Half of patients with the Dandy-Walker malformation (DWM) have normal intellectual development. We aimed to identify feature on MRI associated with good intellectual prognosis. We reviewed 20 patients with DWM diagnosed on MRI, mean age 14.

[Value of MRI in the diagnosis of unilateral optic nerve aplasia: a case report].

Optic nerve aplasia is a rare congenital anomaly consisting of complete absence of the optic disc and nerve, ganglion cells and nerve fibers, and retinal blood vessels. Optic nerve aplasia may be associated or not with anomalies of the eye ball, and may be unilateral or more rarely bilateral, the latter sometimes associated with major central nervous system anomalies. We report the MRI appearance of a case of unilateral optic nerve aplasia associated with microphthalmos.

Intracranial venous anomalies associated with atretic cephalocoeles.

Background: Midline scalp lesions are frequent in children. They include soft-tissue masses and atretic meningocoeles. Their recognition is important as their treatment differs.

Cerebral white matter disease in children may be caused by mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiency.

Several mitochondrial diseases are known to occasionally involve the cerebral white matter, namely Leigh syndrome, Kearns-Sayre syndrome, and MELAS syndrome, but in these cases the major finding is alteration in the basal ganglia and brainstem. Here we report on severe diffuse white matter involvement and respiratory chain enzyme deficiency or mitochondrial DNA rearrangement in 5 unrelated families. It is interesting that white matter lesions were the only abnormal neuroradiologic feature in 3 of the 5 families, and multiple small cyst-like white matter lesions were found in 2 of 5 probands.

Vein of Galen vascular malformations in infants: clinical, radiological and therapeutic aspect.

A series of 14 vein of Galen vascular malformations diagnosed in the pediatric populations and treated at the Hospital for Sick Children-Necker, Paris, between 1988 and 1994 is presented. Five of the patients were diagnosed in the neonatal period, of whom 4 presented with life-threatening, intractable cardiac decompensation and high-flow arteriovenous fistulae. Embolization was performed on vital indications in 4 patients during the first week after birth.

Desmoplastic supratentorial neuroepithelial tumours of childhood: imaging in 5 patients.

Desmoplastic neuroepithelial tumours are rare supratentorial neoplasms of infancy with a favourable prognosis. We characterised their imaging findings by reviewing the clinical and radiological reports of five affected children. The tumours were massive, predominantly cystic and with preferential frontal and parietal lobe involvement.

A double-blind CT study comparing the safety and efficacy of iopentol and ioxaglate in paediatric patients.

Iopentol (Imagopaque); 300 mg I/ml was compared with ioxaglate (Hexabrix; 320 mg I/ml in 89 patients (45 and 44 patients, mean age 8.5 and 7.9 years in the contrast groups, respectively), in paediatric intravenous CT contrast enhancement.

Lumbar spinal cord motion measurement with phase-contrast MR imaging in normal children and in children with spinal lipomas.

We assessed the normal movement of the lumbar spinal cord using phase-contrast MR imaging, and also the movement of the spinal cord in patients with spinal lipoma pre- and postoperatively. Phase-contrast MR imaging proved to be a valuable tool in this context.

MRI study of lumbosacral lipoma in children.

The authors report 16 cases of lumbosacral lipoma in children studied by MRI. The exact position of the cord and its relationship to the lipoma were well demonstrated in all cases but one. There was as high incidence (25%) of syringomyelia in the terminal conus.

[X-ray computed tomography coupled with cisternography in chronic pericerebral effusions in young children].

The authors study 26 children with macrocranium and pericerebral effusion as diagnosed by C.T. Three groups are described: 10 with the classical C.

[Efficacy of scanography in convulsions and epilepsy in children].

CT scan examinations done in 356 children for epilepsy or occasional seizures showed normal results in over 50% of cases and abnormal results in 40%. The remaining 10% reflect the difficulties in ascertaining that a CT scan examination is normal, particularly regarding pericerebral spaces or ventricular size. The anomalies disclosed on CT scan are of little practical significance.

[Cerebral malformations in the oro-facio-digital syndrome of Papillon-Leage and Psaume (author's transl)].

Six children with an oro-facio-digital syndrome (Papillon-Leage and Psaume) underwent pneumoencephalography. In 3 cases, the examination was normal. In 3 cases, severe abnormalities were discovered.

The neuro-radiological examination of endocrine disorders of central origin in the child (precocious puberty, hypopituitarism).

The neuro-radiological findings in 38 cases of precocious puberty of central origin and 9 cases of hypopituitarism (craniopharyngiomas excepted), are reported. The radiological examination consisted of plain films of the skull and pneumo-encephalography. In the 9 cases with hypopituitarism radiological examination was normal in 4 and localised but quite diverse anomalies were discovered in 5.

[Hazards and complications of pneumoencephalography in children].

In a series of 1334 consecutive pneumoencephalographies in children 0-15 years, there were 2 deaths, 3 severe apneas and 1 pneumomediastinum. Respiratory insufficiency, due to contention of the patient with resulting impairment of the motion of thoracic muscles was an important mechanism and pneumoencephalography is contra-indicated in children with respiratory difficulties prior to the examination. In 90 consecutive patients submitted to pneymoencephalography CSF changes and fundus oculi abnormalities were studied prospectively.