Atypical MRI findings in Kearns-Sayre syndrome: T2 radial stripes

Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS) is a mitochondrial disorder consisting of external ophthalmoplegia, retinitis pigmentosa, ataxia and heart block. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows abnormal T2 high signal intensity in the deep gray matter nuclei, the cerebellar and the subcortical white matter. We report an unusual MR pattern of KSS, where the T2 images revealed radially oriented, hypointense stripes in hyperintense white matter, a characteristic MRI pattern of lysosomal disease not previously reported in KSS.