Multifocal inflammatory leukoencephalopathy: use of thallium-201 SPECT and proton MRS

In a patient receiving 5-fluorouracil and levamisole, neurologic deficits suggest the cerebral demyelinating syndrome as a differential diagnosis. The authors report a patient diagnosed as multifocal inflammatory leukoencephalopathy for which thallium-201 (201Tl) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) were employed as noninvasive diagnostic tools. 201Tl SPECT study was negative and proton MRS showed an increase of choline and lactate and well preserved N-acetylaspartate. These findings support histopathologic findings of multifocal inflammatory leukoencephalopathy revealing demyelination with relative axonal sparing in the patient.