Injuries of basal ganglia following head trauma in children.

7 pediatric patients with injuries of basal ganglia following head trauma were reported. They ranged in age from 10 months to 10 years. 5 boys and 2 girls comprised the patients. Cases 1--4 are mild cases in which the children fell down backward while playing, followed by a minimum loss of consciousness. In every case there was hemiparesis, but all of them showed remarkable recovery. CT findings are that of unilateral basal ganglia infarction. In cases 5--7, patients suffered from symptoms of brain contusion after running out in front of an oncoming car, and they developed hemiparesis. CT findings in cases 5 and 6 showed unilateral infarction. CT of case 7 showed a massive unilateral hemorrhage of the basal ganglia. All 7 cases sustained only slight scalp wounds and no skull fracture in spite of the severity of injuries signs and CT findings. This discrepancy seems to be explained only by the so-called shearing strain theory. But we have hypothesized that anterior stretch of the lateral branch of the perforator of the middle cerebral artery plays a major role in its pathogenesis.