Neuroimaging in Infantile Autism

Metabolic findings using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) with positron emission tomography (PET) and correlative anatomic findings with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were characterized in 13 children with infantile autism. Four of 13 patients had both an abnormal FDG-PET...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child neurology 1994-04, Vol.9 (2), p.155-161
Main Authors: Schifter, Tobias, Hoffman, John M., Hatten, H. Paul, Hanson, Michael W., Coleman, R. Edward, DeLong, G. Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autistic Disorder - diagnosis
Autistic Disorder - diagnostic imaging
Blood Glucose - metabolism
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain - pathology
Brain Damage, Chronic - diagnosis
Brain Damage, Chronic - diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Cortex - pathology
Child
Child, Preschool
Deoxyglucose - analogs & derivatives
Energy Metabolism - physiology
Epilepsy - diagnosis
Epilepsy - diagnostic imaging
Female
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neurocognitive Disorders - diagnosis
Neurocognitive Disorders - diagnostic imaging
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, Emission-Computed
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Summary:Metabolic findings using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) with positron emission tomography (PET) and correlative anatomic findings with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were characterized in 13 children with infantile autism. Four of 13 patients had both an abnormal FDG-PET and an abnormal MRI, whereas seven of 13 patients had both a normal FDG-PET and a normal CT or MRI. Sixteen of a total of 195 brain areas qualitatively examined with FDG-PET had a hypometabolic abnormality on PET. Three of the five abnormal structural imaging studies revealed neuronal migrational anomalies (focal pachygyria). In two of the five patients with anatomic abnormalities, these were noted only after knowledge of the FDG-PET findings. Our experience reveals that anatomic and metabolic abnormalities can be found in children who exhibit autistic behavior. An FDG-PET study may provide evidence of metabolic dysfunction after an initially unremarkable MRI scan because subtle anatomic abnormalities (as those seen with neuronal migrational anomalies) may be found only after knowledge of a regional metabolic abnormality. (J Child Neurol 1994;9:155-161).
ISSN:0883-0738
1708-8283
DOI:10.1177/088307389400900210