Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-f46jp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-22T19:05:07.864Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Down's Syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

David M. Pelz ,
Stephen J. Karlik ,
Allan J. Fox  and
Fernando Viñuela
David M. Pelz*
Affiliation:
Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, University Hospital, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
Stephen J. Karlik
Affiliation:
Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, University Hospital, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario Department of Pathology, University Hospital, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
Allan J. Fox
Affiliation:
Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, University Hospital, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
Fernando Viñuela
Affiliation:
Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, University Hospital, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
*
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital, P.O. Box 5339, Postal Stn. “A”, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5A5
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

100% of brains of Down's adults over age 40 will show Alzheimer-type neuropathologic changes in the frontal and temporal lobes. In an attempt to image these lesions, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in seven patients with Down's syndrome, ranging in age from 17 to 45 years, using a resistive unit operating at 0.15 Tesla. All scans were within normal limits except for one 45 year-old patient with severe left temporal lobe atrophy. No areas of abnormal signal were seen in the frontal or temporal lobes and the white matter lesions commonly seen in elderly demented subjects were not visualized in this group. We conclude that these white matter lesions are likely coincidental and not causally related to Alzheimer's changes. The pathologic process leading to the formation and development of Alzheimer's changes in the brains of Down's adults may not be visible on magnetic resonance images.

Type
Imaging of Demented Subjects
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 13 , Issue S4 , November 1986 , pp. 566 - 569
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1986

References

1.Wisniewski, KE, Dalton, AJ, Crapper McLachlan, DR, Wen, GY, Wisniewski, HM.Alzheimer’s disease in down’s syndrome: clini-copathologic studies. Neurology 1985; 35: 957–961.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Wisniewski, KE, Howe, J, Williams, DG, Wisniewski, HM.Precocious aging and dementia in patients with down’s syndrome. Biol Psychiatry 1978; 13: 619–627.Google ScholarPubMed
3.Malamud, N.Neuropathology of organic brain syndrome associated with aging. In: Gantz, CM, ed. Aging and the brain. New York: Plenum Publishing Corp., 1972: 63–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Crapper, DR, Dalton, AJ, Skopitz, M, Scott, JW, Hachinski, V.Alzheimer degeneration in down syndrome: electrophysiologic alterations and histopathologic findings. Arch Neurol 1975; 32: 618–623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Ropper, AH, Williams, RS.Relationship between plaques, tangles, and dementia in down syndrome. Neurology 1980; 30: 639–644.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Ball, MJ, Nuttall, K.Neurofibrillary tangles, granulovacuolardegeneration and neuron loss in down syndrome: quantitative comparison with alzheimer dementia. Ann Neurol 1980; 7: 462–465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.George, AE, DeLeon, MJ, Rosenbloom, S, Ferris, SH, Gentes, C, Emmerich, M, Kricheff, II.Ventricular volume and cognitive deficit. A computed tomographic study. Radiology 1983; 149: 493–498.Google ScholarPubMed
8.Hughes, CP, Cado, M.Computed tomography and aging of the brain. Radiology 1981; 139: 391–396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Ball, MJ, Schapiro, MB, Rapoport, SI.Neuropathological relationships between down syndrome and senile dementia alzheimer type. In: Epstein, C, ed. The neurobiology of down syndrome. New York: Raven (in press).Google Scholar
10.Brant-Zawadzki, M, Fein, G, VanDyke, C, Kiernan, R, Davenport, L, de Groot, J.MR imaging of the aging brain: patchy white-matter lesions and dementia. AJNR 1985; 6: 675–682.Google ScholarPubMed
11.Friedland, RP, Budinger, TF, Brant-Zawadzki, M, Jagust, WJ.The diagnosis of alzheimer-type dementia: a preliminary comparison of positron emission tomography and proton magnetic resonance. JAMA 1984; 252: 2750–2752.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Erkinjuntii, T, Sipponen, JT, Iivanainen, M, Ketonen, L, Sulkava, R, Sepponen, RE.Cerebral nmr and ct imaging in dementia. J Comput Assist Tomogr 1984; 8: 614–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar