Intracranial tuberculoma: MR imaging

MR studies of 6 patients with intracranial tuberculoma are reviewed. All patients also underwent CT scans which showed hypo- or isodense lesions with abnormal enhancement following contrast administration. MR showed lesions with prolongation of the T1 relaxation time in every case. On the T2-weighte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroradiology 1989-01, Vol.31 (4), p.299-302
Main Authors: SALGADO, P, DEL BRUTTO, O. H, TALAMAS, O, ZENTENO, M. A, RODRIGUEZ-CARBAJAL, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Diseases - diagnosis
Brain Stem
Diagnosis, Differential
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Female
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Retrospective Studies
Tuberculoma - diagnosis
Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections
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Summary:MR studies of 6 patients with intracranial tuberculoma are reviewed. All patients also underwent CT scans which showed hypo- or isodense lesions with abnormal enhancement following contrast administration. MR showed lesions with prolongation of the T1 relaxation time in every case. On the T2-weighted sequences, the signal properties of the tuberculoma varied according to the stage of evolution of the lesion. Incipient tuberculomas appeared as scattered areas of hypointensity surrounded by edema. Mature tuberculomas were composed of a dark necrotic center surrounded by an isointense capsule which was, in turn, surrounded by edema. In one patient, the center of the lesion was hyperintense probably because of liquefaction and pus formation (tuberculous abscess). While both, CT and MR, were equally sensitive in visualizing the intracranial tuberculoma in every patient, MR was slightly superior in demonstrating the extent of the lesion, especially for brainstem tuberculomas. Nevertheless, the potential role for MR diagnosis of intracranial tuberculoma is limited by the fact that other infectious or neoplasic diseases may present similar findings. The diagnosis of intracranial tuberculoma should rest on a proper integration of data from clinical manifestations, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and neuroimaging studies.
ISSN:0028-3940
1432-1920
DOI:10.1007/BF00344170