A comparative study of physiologic intracranial calcifications.

It has been the impression of clinicians that pineal calcification is infrequent in Shiraz, Iran. In order to evaluate this clinical impression 2000 consecutive skul X-rays taken at Saadi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, were reviewed for the presence of physiologic intracranial calcifications. The incidence of these clasifications in male and female in consecutive age groups of 10 years from 0 to over 70 years of age were assessed and compared with previous reports from other countries. The average incidence of pineal calcification for those over 20 years of age was 18.29% in this study compared with 55% in the U.S.A. The incidence of calcification in the choroid plexus and the falx cerebri was also considerably less than previously reported. The literature is reviewed and the possible causes for the geographical differences in the reported frequency of physiologic intracranial calcifications is discussed. It is possible that racial and dietary factors may be significant in the variation in the incidence of pineal and other cranial calcifications noted in different countries. Within a population group, age and sex are additional factors.