MRI in spastic cerebral palsy -correlations with motor development and mental retardation

摘要

Material/Methods: Twenty-two children aged 4-17 years (boys 12,girls 10)with CP diplegia -16 and tetraplegia .6 were studied. Routine MR images were performed in all children.Results: All patients had periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)in MR findings. In addition three different degrees of MRI lesion patterns were defined: a mild pattern (nucleus lentiformis and thalamus) moderate (nucleus lentiformis, thalamus and pericentral region)and a severe pattern (nucleus lentiformis ,thalamus, pericentral region and hippocampus).Significant correlations of the MR findings with the motor development and mental retardation were found. No significantrelationships between the MR findings and the etiological factors (prematurity, low birthweight, Apgar score, sepsis,seizures, pre-eclamsia ,and gestational age)were noted.Conclusions: MR imaging is useful in the evaluation structural abnormalities in the brains in the children with spastic diplegia and tetraplegia.