Linked Life Data

11437163

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/11437163

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-7-4
pubmed:abstractText
Vacuolating megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy (VML) with subcortical cysts is a neurodegenerative disorder clinically characterized by megalencephaly with onset in the first year of life, progressive ataxia, spasticity and relatively spared cognitive function. Conventional MRI findings consist of diffusely abnormal cerebral white matter with subcortical cysts. Recent single-voxel proton MR spectroscopy studies have shown mild metabolic abnormalities in the white matter. We report here a combined proton MR imaging and MR spectroscopic imaging (1H-MRSI) study on 2 new, unrelated patients with this rare disorder. 1H-MRSI examinations, which can provide simultaneously metabolic information from many different brain regions, showed inhomogeneous decreases in all normally detected metabolites with significant widespread decreases in the ratio of N-acetylaspartate to creatine+phosphocreatine and concomitant small increases in lactate in the white matter of both hemispheres. Metabolic abnormalities were milder in the frontal white matter and more severe in the posterior white matter. The 1H-MRSI pattern of the gray matter was normal in both patients. In one patient, a subsequent 1H-MRSI examination (performed 3 years after the first) confirmed the presence of widespread decreases in the ratio of N-acetylaspartate to creatine+phosphocreatine in the white matter. We conclude that severe metabolic abnormalities can be found in the white matter of VML patients. This suggests that, despite the apparently mild clinical course, a severe neurodegenerative process may occur in the white matter of these patients.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0340-5354
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
248
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
403-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Severe metabolic abnormalities in the white matter of patients with vacuolating megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts. A proton MR spectroscopic imaging study.
pubmed:affiliation
Neurometabolic Unit, University of Siena, Italy.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Case Reports, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't