MR of the brain in children

Abstract

MR imaging has firmly established its place as the cornerstone of pediatric neuroimaging. Recent advances in MR imaging have led to decreased imaging time, high resolution studies, and new methods for obtaining tissue contrast. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) now obviates the need for angiography in some children, although its extended role is still to be defined. Normal and abnormal development and myelination patterns have been further defined with MR imaging. The patterns of brain injury resulting from hypoxia and ischemia vary with the degree of the insult as well as the gestational age of the child. These patterns of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy can be analyzed to determine when the insult occurred. Neuronal migration disorders and phakomatoses can be diagnosed with confidence at an early age, thus facilitating genetic counseling. MR imaging can detect the most common lesions associated with childhood epilepsy, such as hippocampal sclerosis, focal cortical dysplasias, and low-grade tumors. Other areas, including pediatric AIDS, toxicity-related injury, metabolic/mitochondrial conditions, and disorders associated with iatrogenic injury, can be diagnosed with MR. Spectroscopy provides information that should prove useful in evaluating and monitoring neuronal and other brain tissue disorders in children.