Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography of Neonatal Periventricular Leukomalacia

We describe herein single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 99mTc HM-PAO of a patient with neonatal cystic periventricular leukomalacia (PVL). The patient, who was a low birth weight infant of 27 weeks gestation weighing 1,290 g, had suffered from respiratory distress syndrome. Following surfactant replacement therapy, mechanical ventilation were carried out six days after birth. Serial cranial ultrasonography (US) showed periventricular high-echoic lesions followed by cyst formation at three weeks of age. Although cystic PVL was markedly observed on both cranial US and MRI, a SPECT study initially revealed no abnormal distribution of rCBF. A chronological SPECT study at nine months of age revealed decreased rCBF of 10% in the left hemisphere as compared to the contralateral side. At the time decreased rCBF was observed on SPECT, periventricular cyst formation tended to disappear on simultaneous MRI. It is known that PVL is an infarction which affects all the cellular elements of the white matter and may lead to abnormal myelination. SPECT studies may also useful to clarify the cerebral function in neonatal PVL

A Case of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection Presenting with Lissencephaly

We report here a case of congenital cytomegalovirus infection presenting with lissencephaly-pachygyria and the evaluation of neuroradiological studies of this case including ultrasonography, cranial computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. We propose that congenital cytomegalovirus infection during the early gestational period is one of the important causes of lissencephaly-pachygyria. Therefore, virological and immunological studies should be performed during the early neonatal period

Evaluation of Source Generators in Partial Seizures : Availability of Neuroradiological Images Superimposed on the Dipole Tracing

To clarify the anatomical localization of epileptic foci in childhood partial seizures, the source generators of interictal focal spikes were analyzed using a dipole tracing method and the effectiveness of a composite image diagnostic technique using neuroradiological images obtained by magnetic resonance imaging and single photon emission computed tomography was evaluated. The localization of electric source generators approximately reflects the abnormal lesions on neuroradiological images. However, the source generators tended to be located in the deep and/or peripheral parts of the abnormal regions. Even though systemic shifts in the position of optimal dipoles from their true positions is a limitation that must be taken into consideration, composite image diagnostic technique may be useful for evaluating the epileptogenic regions in partial seizures, and particularly, in children where noninvasive methods are preferable