[MR imaging in infantile spasms]

CT and MRI in 13 patients with infantile spasms were analyzed. Cortical atrophy was found in 8 cases and ventricular dilatation in 9 cases. The patients with severe cortical atrophy or ventricular dilatation had poorer prognosis than the patients with normal CT findings. In addition to cortical atrophy and ventricular dilatation which were shown in CT, MRI revealed poor differentiation of gray and white matters in all cases and periventricular hyperintensity area in 9 patients. Six patients with the periventricular hyperintensity area of grade III and IV had severe developmental delay. With regard to the prognosis, MRI plays a more useful role in detecting intracranial pathology in infantile spasms.