Intracranial findings in progressive facial hemiatrophy

Abstract

There have been infrequent reports of cerebral lesions associated with progressive facial hemiatrophy. Six children with progressive facial hemiatrophy were evaluated. Four were referred for evaluation of neurological deficits: 2 with seizures, one with left hemiparesis and one with learning problems. The remaining 2 patients had only facial hemiatrophy. Cranial computed tomography (CT) in 5 patients revealed the bony and soft tissue defects, but cerebral calcifications were seen in only 3 patients. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated areas of increased signal in the ipsilateral white matter on T2 weighted images in all 5 patients with upper facial atrophy. Ipsilateral cerebral lesions with progressive facial hemiatrophy may be more common than once believed. MRI sometimes reveals abnormalities of the white matter even in patients without neurologic symptoms, and may be more sensitive than CT in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with progressive facial hemiatrophy.