TY - JOUR
T1 - T2 hyperintensities in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 and their relationship to cognitive functioning
AU - Hyman, Shelley L.
AU - Gill, Deepak S.
AU - Shores, Edwin Arthur
AU - Steinberg, Adam
AU - North, Kathryn N.
N1 - Copyright retained by the author(s). Article originally published in Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Volume 78, Issue 10, pp. 1088-1091. The original article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2006.108134. Article archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author and according to publisher conditions. For further information see http://www.bmj.com/.
PY - 2007/10
Y1 - 2007/10
N2 - Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a single gene disorder associated with a high frequency of cognitive deficits and a complex cognitive phenotype. These cognitive deficits have been associated with focal areas of high signal intensity on T2 weighted MRI images but the relationship remains controversial. Method: A cohort of 76 children with NF1 and 45 unaffected sibling controls (aged 8-16 years) underwent extensive neuropsychological assessment, with the NF1 children having MRI examinations. Results: The presence or number of T2 hyperintensities (T2H) was not associated with cognitive dysfunction. However, the location of discrete (well circumscribed) T2H in the thalamus was associated with severe and generalised cognitive impairment. More diffuse lesions in the thalamus were also associated with reductions in IQ but the effects were less marked compared with the discrete lesions. Comparing children with NF1 to their unaffected siblings revealed more subtle effects of the lesions on cognitive ability. Conclusions: T2H cannot be used in general as a radiological marker for cognitive deficits in children with NF1; however, lesions in the thalamus are strongly associated with cognitive impairment. It is possible that lesions in the thalamus in conjunction with more general thalamic hypometabolism may compound the level of thalamic dysfunction, resulting in cognitive deficits well beyond those produced by T2H in other regions.
AB - Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a single gene disorder associated with a high frequency of cognitive deficits and a complex cognitive phenotype. These cognitive deficits have been associated with focal areas of high signal intensity on T2 weighted MRI images but the relationship remains controversial. Method: A cohort of 76 children with NF1 and 45 unaffected sibling controls (aged 8-16 years) underwent extensive neuropsychological assessment, with the NF1 children having MRI examinations. Results: The presence or number of T2 hyperintensities (T2H) was not associated with cognitive dysfunction. However, the location of discrete (well circumscribed) T2H in the thalamus was associated with severe and generalised cognitive impairment. More diffuse lesions in the thalamus were also associated with reductions in IQ but the effects were less marked compared with the discrete lesions. Comparing children with NF1 to their unaffected siblings revealed more subtle effects of the lesions on cognitive ability. Conclusions: T2H cannot be used in general as a radiological marker for cognitive deficits in children with NF1; however, lesions in the thalamus are strongly associated with cognitive impairment. It is possible that lesions in the thalamus in conjunction with more general thalamic hypometabolism may compound the level of thalamic dysfunction, resulting in cognitive deficits well beyond those produced by T2H in other regions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34848884867&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/jnnp.2006.108134
DO - 10.1136/jnnp.2006.108134
M3 - Article
C2 - 17299016
AN - SCOPUS:34848884867
SN - 0022-3050
VL - 78
SP - 1088
EP - 1091
JO - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
IS - 10
ER -