Magnetic resonance imaging of cerebral hemiatrophy.

Twenty-one cases of cerebral hemiatrophy were studied using 1.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition to showing the generalized decrease in volume of the cerebral hemisphere, three patterns of cerebral hemiatrophy were noted: pattern I, diffuse cortical and subcortical atrophy (six cases):pattern II, diffuse cortical atrophy associated with expanded porencephalic cysts (10 cases); pattern III, old infarction with necrosis in the territory of the middle cerebral artery (five cases). Pattern I and pattern II were believed to have resulted from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy with subcortical leukomalacia (SCL). In all 21 cases, MRI also showed Wallerian degeneration, hyperintensive signals in the posterior limb of the internal capsule on the T2-weighted images, and unilateral atrophy of the cerebral peduncle as far as the pyramid of the medulla oblongata. Structural changes such as thickness of the calvarium, dilatation of the ipsilateral side of the frontal and ethmoid sinus, and reduced size of the middle cranial fossa, were found in 13 cases. Thus, MRI is a useful method of examination in the diagnosis of cerebral hemiatrophy as it has the ability to highlight changes in the cerebral hemisphere, basal ganglion, thalamus and brainstem as well as highlighting bony structural changes.