TY - JOUR
T1 - Enterovirus 71-related encephalomyelitis
T2 - Usual and unusual magnetic resonance imaging findings
AU - Jang, Seonah
AU - Suh, Sang Il
AU - Ha, Su Min
AU - Byeon, Jung Hye
AU - Eun, Baik Lin
AU - Lee, Young Hen
AU - Seo, Hyung Suk
AU - Eun, So Hee
AU - Seol, Hae Young
PY - 2012/3
Y1 - 2012/3
N2 - Introduction: Most enterovirus (EV) 71 infections manifest as mild cases of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD)/herpangina with seasonal variations, having peak incidence during the summer. Meanwhile, EV 71 may involve the central nervous system (CNS), causing severe neurologic disease. In many cases, enteroviral encephalomyelitis involves the central midbrain, posterior portion of the medulla oblongata and pons, bilateral dentate nuclei of the cerebellum, and the ventral roots of the cervical spinal cord, and the lesions show hyperintensity on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. Our goal was to review usual and unusual magnetic resonance (MR) findings in CNS involvement of enteroviral infection. Methods: Among consecutive patients who had HFMD and clinically suspected encephalitis or myelitis and who underwent brain or spinal MR imaging, five patients revealed abnormal MR findings. Diffusion-weighted and conventional MR and follow-up MR images were obtained. From cerebrospinal fluid, stool, or nasopharyngeal swabs, EV 71 was confirmed in all patients. Results: MR imaging studies of two patients showed hyperintensity in the posterior portion of the brainstem on T2-weighted and FLAIR images, which is the well-known MR finding of EV 71 encephalitis. The remaining three cases revealed unusual manifestations: leptomeningeal enhancement, abnormal enhancement along the ventral roots at the conus medullaris level without brain involvement, and hyperintensity in the left hippocampus on T2/FLAIR images. Conclusion: EV 71 encephalomyelitis shows relatively characteristic MR findings; therefore, imaging can be helpful in radiologic diagnosis. However, physicians should also be aware of unusual radiologic manifestations of EV 71.
AB - Introduction: Most enterovirus (EV) 71 infections manifest as mild cases of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD)/herpangina with seasonal variations, having peak incidence during the summer. Meanwhile, EV 71 may involve the central nervous system (CNS), causing severe neurologic disease. In many cases, enteroviral encephalomyelitis involves the central midbrain, posterior portion of the medulla oblongata and pons, bilateral dentate nuclei of the cerebellum, and the ventral roots of the cervical spinal cord, and the lesions show hyperintensity on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. Our goal was to review usual and unusual magnetic resonance (MR) findings in CNS involvement of enteroviral infection. Methods: Among consecutive patients who had HFMD and clinically suspected encephalitis or myelitis and who underwent brain or spinal MR imaging, five patients revealed abnormal MR findings. Diffusion-weighted and conventional MR and follow-up MR images were obtained. From cerebrospinal fluid, stool, or nasopharyngeal swabs, EV 71 was confirmed in all patients. Results: MR imaging studies of two patients showed hyperintensity in the posterior portion of the brainstem on T2-weighted and FLAIR images, which is the well-known MR finding of EV 71 encephalitis. The remaining three cases revealed unusual manifestations: leptomeningeal enhancement, abnormal enhancement along the ventral roots at the conus medullaris level without brain involvement, and hyperintensity in the left hippocampus on T2/FLAIR images. Conclusion: EV 71 encephalomyelitis shows relatively characteristic MR findings; therefore, imaging can be helpful in radiologic diagnosis. However, physicians should also be aware of unusual radiologic manifestations of EV 71.
KW - Encephalitis
KW - Enterovirus 71
KW - Magnetic resonance
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U2 - 10.1007/s00234-011-0921-8
DO - 10.1007/s00234-011-0921-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 21861081
AN - SCOPUS:84862316174
VL - 54
SP - 239
EP - 245
JO - Neuroradiology
JF - Neuroradiology
SN - 0028-3940
IS - 3
ER -