[Cranial MRI findings in epileptic children].

PURPOSE

To investigate the cranial MRI findings in childhood epilepsy and to detect the most frequent cerebral lesions in epileptic children in our region.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, 98 epileptic children were examined with 1 T MRI equipment between January 1997 and March 2001. T1-weighted sagittal, T2 and proton weighted axial and T2-weighted coronal MR images were obtained. Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted axial, sagittal and coronal MR images were also examined in patients with suspicion of infection or intracranial mass.

RESULTS

Among a total of 98 patients, 65 (66.3%) had no pathological findings on MRI. The pathological findings were diffuse cerebral atrophy (18.4%), delay in myelination and dismyelination (12.4%), ischemia and infarct (8.2%), arachnoid cysts (6.2%), tumoral mass (5.1%), mesial temporal sclerosis (1.0%) and sequelae of kernicterus (1.0%).

CONCLUSION

MRI has been found to be effective in the evaluation of cerebral structures and imaging the pathologies in the etiology of epilepsy and other lesions in childhood focal epilepsy. However, MRI does not always appear to be successful in detecting the epileptic focus.