Muscle CT in peripheral neuropathies

We studied retrospectively the muscle CT scans of 60 acquired and 40 congenital motor peripheral neuropathies in order to define the diagnostic usefulness of muscle CT in these disorders. Fifty-five percent of the acquired and 72% of the congenital forms showed muscle CT pathological changes correlated to the clinical severity. The typical finding was pure muscle atrophy but several patients also revealed areas of hypodensity. In most of the acquired forms, muscle changes affected both the thighs and legs with a prevalent involvement of the posterior muscles. The congenital forms showed early involvement of the anterior leg muscles. Our study suggests that a CT scan might be useful in evaluating the severity of muscular atrophy, its evolution in time and the prognosis of motor function, in confirming the diagnosis of acquired or congenital neuropathies, and in some cases in defining the phenotypes of congenital forms.