Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2006 Jun;163(6):1106-8.
doi: 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.6.1106.

Increased number of subcortical hyperintensities on MRI in children and adolescents with Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Jose A Amat  1 , Richard A Bronen, Sanjay Saluja, Noriko Sato, Hongtu Zhu, Daniel A Gorman, Jason Royal, Bradley S Peterson
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Increased number of subcortical hyperintensities on MRI in children and adolescents with Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Jose A Amat et al. Am J Psychiatry. 2006 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether cerebral hyperintensities on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) are associated with childhood neuropsychiatric disorders.

Method: The authors compared the frequency of cortical and subcortical cerebral hyperintensities in 100 children and adolescents with Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 32 healthy comparison subjects.

Results: The frequency of cerebral hyperintensities was significantly higher in subjects with Tourette's syndrome, OCD, or ADHD than in healthy comparison subjects; each diagnostic group seemed to contribute to this effect. Among the patient groups, the likelihood of detecting cerebral hyperintensities in the subcortex (primarily the basal ganglia and thalamus) was significantly greater than in the cortex.

Conclusions: A childhood diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome, OCD, or ADHD significantly increased the likelihood of detecting cerebral hyperintensities, particularly in the subcortex, supporting the notion that subcortical injury may play a role in the pathophysiology of these conditions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1. T2-Weighted Axial MRI of the Brain of a Child With ADHD Showing a Cerebral Hyperintensity (arrow) in the Left Basal Ganglia in the Region of the Globus Pallidus
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mantyla R, Aronen HJ, Salonen O, Pohjasvaara T, Korpelainen M, Peltonen T, Standertskjold-Nordenstam, Kaste M, Erkinjuntti T. MRI white matter hyperintensities and mechanism of ischemic stroke. Stroke. 1999;30(10):2053–2058. - PubMed
    1. Pomper MG, Miller TJ, Stone JH, Tidmore WC, Hellman DB. CNS vasculitis in autoimmune disease. Am J Neuroradiol. 1999;20:75–85. - PubMed
    1. Kienzle GD, Breger RK, Chun RW, Zupanc ML, Sacket JF. Sydenham chorea: MR manifestations in two cases. Am J Neuroradiol. 1991;12(1):73–76. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giedd JN, Rapoport JL, Kruesi MJ, Parker C, Schapiro MB, Allen AJ, Leonard HL, Kaysen D, Dickstein DP, Marsh WL, Kozuch PL, Vaituzis AC, Hamburger SD, Swedo SE. Sydenham's chorea magnetic resonance imaging of the basal ganglia. Neurology. 1995;45:2199–2202. - PubMed
    1. Bodner SM, Peterson BS. Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcus. Dir Psychiatry. 2003;23:235–251.

Publication types

MeSH terms