The value of MRI in children with craniocerebral neurofibromatosis type Ⅰ

CHENG Guang; QIN Wenhua; LU Linmin; MA Yuqin; HUANG Lu

Abstract：Objective To investigate the value of MRI in children with craniocerebral neurofibromatosis type Ⅰ.Methods The MRI images of 16 children with neurofibromatosis type Ⅰ were retrospectively analyzed.Results MRI findings were as fol-lows:9 cases were located in the basal ganglia,8 cases in thalamus,6 cases in hippocampus,11 cases in cerebellum,8 cases in brain stem,and 4 cases in orbital/frontal lobe.Pathological morphology were as follows:9 cases were quasi circular,6 cases were nodular,5 cases were strip shape,6 cases were punctate,and 4 cases were irregular.MRI showed that 6 cases had low sig-nal and 10 cases had equal signal on T1WI,16 cases had high/slightly high signal intensity on T2WI,14 cases had FLAIR high/slightly high signal,and 16 cases had DWI and other signals.MRS showed that Cho peak increased in 2 cases,NAA peak de-creased in 2 cases.As for complications,abnormal sphenoid bone was found in 2 cases,exophthalmos in 2 cases,scoliosis in 4 cases,and pulmonary air sac in 1 case.Conclusion The onset sites of type Ⅰ neurofibromatosis in children's brain are mostly basal ganglia,thalamus,cerebellum and brain stem.Quasi circular morphology is more common.Equal low signal on T1WI,high/slightly high signal on T2WI and FLAIR,and MRI should be combined with clinical manifestations for diagnosis.