Computerized tomography in demyelinating disease of the young

Abstract

We have used computerized tomography (CT) to look for evidence of cerebral demyelination in children with progressive neurologic disorders. Fourteen patients with a clinical diagnosis of a demyelinating disorder were examined by CT, and five had CT findings suggesting cerebral demyelination. In two patients with a so-called myelinoclastic demyelinating disease, CT showed asymmetric, circumscribed areas of diminished radiodensity, and in three patients with a leukodystrophy, scans showed diffuse symmetric areas of low density in the centrum ovale. Autopsy examination in one patient confirmed the diagnosis of sudanophilic leukodystrophy and substantiated the abnormalities suspected from CT.