Deep cerebral vein expansion with metabolic and neurocognitive recovery in Sturgeâ Weber syndrome

We present longitudinal imaging data of a child with Sturgeâ Weber syndrome (SWS). At age 8 months, 3 weeks after initial seizures and prolonged motor deficit, MRI showed extensive right hemispheric SWS involvement with severe glucose hypometabolism on PET. She was treated with levetiracetam and aspirin. Followâ up imaging at age 29 months showed a robust interval expansion of enlarged deep medullary veins throughout the affected hemisphere along with a dramatic recovery of hemispheric metabolism and normalized neurocognitive functioning. These findings demonstrate a robust, multilobar hemispheric remodeling of deep venous collaterals that likely contributed to reversal of initial metabolic and neurocognitive deficits.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143768/1/acn3546_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143768/2/acn3546.pd

Additional file 1: of Imaging cerebral tryptophan metabolism in brain tumor-associated depression

BDI-II scores and AMT kinetic parameters. Table S1. Correlations (Spearman’s rank) between AMT kinetic parameters and BDI-II scores. Table S2. Correlations (Spearman’s rank) between BDI-II scores and AMT kinetic parameters in patients with primary brain tumor

Abnormal Brain Connectivity in Children After Early Severe Socioemotional Deprivation: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

OBJECTIVES. We previously reported that children who were subjected to early socioemotional deprivation in Romanian orphanages showed glucose hypometabolism in limbic and paralimbic structures, including the orbital frontal gyrus, infralimbic prefrontal cortex, hippocampus/amygdala, lateral temporal cortex, and the brainstem. The present study used diffusion tensor imaging tractography to examine the integrity of white matter tracts that connect these brain regions. METHODS. Fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient for uncinate fasciculus, stria terminalis, fornix, and cingulum were measured in 7 right-handed children (5 girls and 2 boys; mean age: 9.7 ± 2.6 years) with a history of early severe socioemotional deprivation in Eastern European orphanages and compared with similar measurements in 7 right-handed normal children (4 girls and 3 boys; mean age: 10.7 ± 2.8 years). RESULTS. Neuropsychological assessment of the orphans verified the relatively mild specific cognitive impairment and impulsivity consistent with previous studies of children who were adopted from Romanian orphanages. Fractional anisotropy values in the left uncinate fasciculus were decreased significantly in the early deprivation group compared with control subjects. Apparent diffusion coefficient values for the early deprivation group tended to be greater than that in control subjects in all of the tracts measured, without reaching statistical significance. CONCLUSION. Our study demonstrates in children who experienced socioemotional deprivation a structural change in the left uncinate fasciculus that partly may underlie the cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral difficulties that commonly are observed in these children

Cerebellar Lesions in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Neurobehavioral and Neuroimaging Correlates

We assessed the structural and functional imaging features of cerebellar lesions and their neurobehavioral correlates in a large cohort of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex. A consecutive series of 78 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies with [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and α-[ 11 C]methyl-L-tryptophan (AMT) as part of their evaluation for epilepsy surgery. Neurobehavioral assessment included the Gilliam Autism Rating Scales (GARS) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS). Twenty-one patients (27%) had cerebellar lesions (10 boys; mean age 9 ± 8 years; 9 had right-sided, 10 had left-sided, and 2 had bilateral cerebellar lesions). The lesions showed decreased glucose metabolism (0.79 ± 0.10) and increased (1.04 ± 0.10) AMT uptake compared with the normal (nonlesional) cerebellar cortex. Comparisons between patients with (n = 20) and without (n = 57) a cerebellar lesion on neurobehavioral functioning, controlling for the number and location of cortical tubers, revealed that the cerebellar lesion group had higher overall autistic symptomatology. Within-group analyses of the cerebellar lesion group revealed that children with right-sided cerebellar lesions had higher social isolation and communicative and developmental disturbance compared with children with left-sided cerebellar lesions. The side of the cerebellar lesion was not related to adaptive behavior functioning. These findings provide additional empiric support for a role of the cerebellum in autistic symptomatology. Further investigation of the potential role of the right cerebellum in autism, particularly with regard to the dentatothalamofrontal circuit, is warranted. (J Child Neurol 2006;21:846—851; DOI 10.2310/7010.2006.00192)