Imaging and clinical characteristics of Marchiafava-Bignami disease: six cases / 中华神经科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the presentation and radiologic findings of MarchiafavaBignami disease (MBD).Methods Six cases of MBD who were diagnosed and treated in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed,including the imaging examination(such as cranial CT,magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)),laboratory tests,clinical symptoms and prognosis.Results Six cases of MBD disease were presented with swelled,thickened corpus callosum,iso-or hypo-intensity on T1WI,hyper-intensity on T2WI and fluid attenuated inversion recovery and restricted diffusion on diffusion weighted imaging.Coma of acute onset was the major clinical finding in case 1,case 4 and case 6,which showed the lesions in the entire corpus callosum and extended to the white matter,and the prognosis of these cases were worse.Slow reaction and memory decrease were the clinical findings in case 2 and case 3,which showed the genu and splenium of corpus callosum involvement on MRI and CT,and returned to normal with aggressive treatment.Numbness and weakness of the lower lambs were the major clinical finding in case 5,which showed that the lesion was limited in the splenium and body of corpus callosum on MRI.The patient recovered after treatment.Conclusions MBD may present with various clinical forms,but have characteristic imaging findings.Outset form and neuroimaging characteristics of MBD are critical for improvement of the clinical outcome.