Magnetic resonance imaging and brain-stem auditory evoked potentials in neuro-Behçet's disease

Abstract

We studied central nervous system lesions in patients with neuro-Behcet's disease using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and recording of brain-stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs). MRI revealed abnormal findings in seven of eight patients. MRI studies demonstrated extensive regions with high intensity signal in the brain stem and/or basal ganglia on T2-weighted images obtained during the acute stage of the disease in three patients. One of these patients had a strongly gadolinum-enhanced round lesion in the lower pons. In four of the other five patients with chronic disease, brain-stem atrophy was observed on T1-weighted images. Atrophic changes were more severe in the brain stem than in the cerebellum. Abnormal BAEPs were observed in three patients and consisted of prolongation of interpeak latency of waves III-V and defects of wave III or V. Abnormal BAEPs were recorded in patients with severe inflammatory changes or progression of atrophic changes in the brain stem. Our findings show that MRI and BAEPs are useful in detecting the presence and assessing the degree of neurological involvement in patients with neuro-Behçet's disease.