Pediatric cerebrovascular disease.
Publication/Presentation Date
10-1-2000
Abstract
Stroke in children is thought to be a rare phenomenon, but in a pediatric hospital, it is much more common than is expected. The development of rapid MRI imaging with diffusion techniques and MR spectroscopy has brought to the attention of both the neuroradiologists and clinicians that pediatric infarction, in both detection and management, are challenges for the future. Since 1995, cerebral diffusion has been performed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in the evaluation of patients with acute cerebral compromise. Diffusion imaging looks at the motion of water molecules both intra- and extracellular, and the manner in which they become restricted in their motion when higher gradient strength is applied during the imaging sequence. Restricted diffusion is seen in cytotoxic edema, an early acute manifestation of ischemia/infarction. Diffusion studies are often positive when routine MRI and CT are as yet negative. Confirmation of the death of tissue is provided on proton spectroscopy by a rise in lactate from anaerobic glycolysis and a loss of N-acetylaspartate from neuronal death. Confirmation of the diffusion image findings, by mapping the apparent co-efficient (ADC), is also valuable. Application of these techniques, together with magnetic resonance angiography and magnetic resonance venography, is the substance of this paper.
Volume
83
Issue
5
First Page
245
Last Page
252
ISSN
1780-2393
Published In/Presented At
Zimmerman R. A. (2000). Pediatric cerebrovascular disease. JBR-BTR : organe de la Societe royale belge de radiologie (SRBR) = orgaan van de Koninklijke Belgische Vereniging voor Radiologie (KBVR), 83(5), 245–252.
Disciplines
Diagnosis | Medicine and Health Sciences | Other Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment | Radiology
PubMedID
11201540
Department(s)
Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Medical Imaging
Document Type
Article