[Evaluation of cranial CT findings of patients with muscular dystrophy: with a reference to cerebral vascular disease and cardiac complications].

We evaluated cranial CT findings of 160 patients with various type of progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD). Significant brain atrophy was observed in 21 out of 63 cases of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), 7 out of 15 Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), no case of 2 female dystrophinopathy (F-dyst), 11 out of 21 limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LG), all cases of 10 Fukuyama type congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD), 2 out of 5 fascioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSH), and 32 out of 44 myotonic dystrophy (MyD). Genetical degenerative process and vascular insufficiency seemed to cause brain atrophy in these disease. The intracranial calcification was observed in one DMD, one LG and seven MyD. One LG patient showed focal atrophy in left temporal lobe, and one MyD demonstrated right temporal meningioma. The trace of cerebral vascular accident was disclosed in eleven patients with PMD (1 DMD, 2 BMD, 1 F-dyst, 2 LG, 5 MyD). In these cases, 2 patients had dilated cardiomyopathy, 6 patients with decreased left ventricular ejection fraction, 3 with atrial fibrillation, 1 with cardiac arrest followed by pacemaker instillation, 1 with Adam-Stokes attack, and 3 with 1 degree AV-block. Diffuse low density in the white matter was seen in a patient with F-dyst, a FCMD patient, and 8 MyD patients. Cardiac emobolism, severe arrythmia, cardiogenic shock and hemodynamic disorder were seemed to cause cerebral vascular disease in PMD.