Basal ganglia calcification

Last revised by Rohit Sharma on 1 Feb 2024

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Gaillard F, Sharma R, R, et al. Basal ganglia calcification. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 19 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-970

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-970

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/970

rID:

970

Article created:

2 May 2008, Frank Gaillard ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had no recorded disclosures.

View Frank Gaillard's current disclosures

Last revised:

1 Feb 2024, Rohit Sharma ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Rohit Sharma had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Rohit Sharma's current disclosures

Revisions:

22 times, by 14 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Central Nervous System

Sections:

Gamuts

Tags:

basal ganglia calcifications, basal ganglia

Synonyms:

Basal ganglial calcification
Calcification of basal ganglia

Basal ganglia calcification is common and is seen in approximately 1% of all CT scans of the brain, depending on the demographics of the scanned population. It is seen more frequently in older patients and is considered a normal incidental and idiopathic finding in an elderly patient but should be considered pathological in persons younger than the age of 40 years unless proved otherwise ⁵.

However, there are many causes of calcification:

idiopathic
- aging: common, globus pallidus most commonly affected
- Fahr disease
toxic
- carbon monoxide poisoning
- lead poisoning
- mineralizing microangiopathy
  - associated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy
- nephrotic syndrome ⁹
infectious
metabolic
- parathyroid disorders
- hypothyroidism ⁹
birth hypoxia
inherited
- mitochondrial diseases e.g. MELAS
- Cockayne syndrome
- pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) (also known as Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome)
- Down syndrome ⁶
- tuberous sclerosis ⁸
- methemoglobinopathy⁹
- Sanjad Sakati syndrome
- Aicardi-Goutières syndrome
vascular
- developmental venous anomaly (unilateral) ⁷

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