Cerebral hemiatrophy has a variety of causes, and is generally associated with seizures and hemiplegia. Causes include:
-
congenital
idiopathic (primary)
intrauterine vascular injury
-
acquired
perinatal intracranial haemorrhage
basal ganglia germinoma 2
infection
vascular abnormalities (e.g. Sturge-Weber syndrome)
ischaemia
hypoxia
Radiographic features
The resultant reduction in cerebral volume, if early enough, can lead to changes in the skull, known as Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome.
Changes within the brain parenchyma typically demonstrate:
thinning of the grey matter cortex
reduced volume of the underlying white matter +/- reduced/abnormal myelination
enlargement of the lateral ventricle
reduced size of cerebral peduncle (ipsilateral)
reduced size of cerebellar hemisphere (contralateral)
Differential diagnosis
A potential pitfall is assuming the 'small' side is the abnormality. Thus hemimegalencephaly or gliomatosis cerebri or widespread cortical dysplasia should be considered.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.