Magnetic resonance imaging of corticobasal degeneration

Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is an adult-onset, progressive parkinsonian syndrome with strikingly asymmetrical features, and signs and symptoms referable to both cerebral cortex and basal ganglia. Although once considered rare, it is now recognized with increasing frequency during life. Eight patients with clinically diagnosed CBD and 8 age- and sex-matched patients with Parkinson's disease underwent high-field-strength magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. MRIs were graded by a blinded neuroradiologist using a semiquantitative (0-3) scale. MRI of patients with CBD revealed significantly greater T2-weighted signal hypointensity in the putamena and globi pallidi, and ventricular enlargement. When specifically sought, asymmetrical cortical atrophy was identified in 5 of 8 CBD patients. Increased T2-weighted lenticular signal hypointensity, ventricular enlargement, and asymmetrical cortical atrophy are supportive MRI findings of CBD.