Acute necrotizing encephalopathy of childhood: typical findings in an atypical disease

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy of childhood (ANEC) is a disease entity seen nearly exclusively in East Asian children that is characterized by multifocal, symmetric lesions involving the thalami, brainstem, cerebellum, and white matter. We present a child who developed dramatic neurologic symptoms...

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Published inPediatric radiology Vol. 38; no. 7; pp. 810 - 813
Main Authors Skelton, Brandon W., Hollingshead, Michael C., Sledd, Andrew T., Phillips, C. Douglas, Castillo, Mauricio
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.07.2008
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Brain stem
Case Report
Cerebellum
Children
Diagnosis, Differential
Encephalopathy
Herpesvirus 6, Human - isolation & purification
Human herpesvirus 6
Humans
Imaging
Infant
Lesions
Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic - diagnosis
Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic - rehabilitation
Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic - virology
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Male
Medical imaging
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neuroimaging
Neuroradiology
Nuclear Medicine
Oncology
Pediatrics
Radiology
Rare diseases
Signs and symptoms
Substantia alba
Ultrasound
Encephalitis
Human herpesvirus-6
Child
Encephalopathy
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Summary:Acute necrotizing encephalopathy of childhood (ANEC) is a disease entity seen nearly exclusively in East Asian children that is characterized by multifocal, symmetric lesions involving the thalami, brainstem, cerebellum, and white matter. We present a child who developed dramatic neurologic symptoms following a viral prodrome. Serial MRI examinations demonstrated characteristic lesions of ANEC, while laboratory analyses revealed evidence of acute infection with human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6). We highlight the MRI findings in both the acute and convalescent phases of ANEC, discuss the implications of neuroimaging on the child’s clinical course, and emphasize the integral role of the radiologist in correctly diagnosing this rare disease.
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ISSN:0301-0449
1432-1998
DOI:10.1007/s00247-008-0823-z