PURPOSE: To study the long-term MR findings in seven patients with Minamata disease. METHODS: All patients examined were affected after eating daily considerable amounts of the methylmercury-contaminated seafoods from 1955 through 1958 and showed typical neurologic findings. T1- and T2-weighted images were obtained in axial, coronal, and sagittal sections. RESULTS: The visual cortex, the cerebellar vermis and hemispheres, and the postcentral cortex were significantly atrophic. The visual cortex was slightly hypointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images, probably representing the pathologic changes of status spongiosus. CONCLUSION: MR demonstrated the lesions, located in the calcarine area, cerebellum, and postcentral gyri, which are probably related to three of the characteristic manifestations of this disease: the constriction of the visual fields, ataxia, and sensory disturbance, respectively.
PURPOSE: To study the long-term MR findings in seven patients with Minamata disease. METHODS: All patients examined were affected after eating daily considerable amounts of the methylmercury-contaminated seafoods from 1955 through 1958 and showed typical neurologic findings. T1- and T2-weighted images were obtained in axial, coronal, and sagittal sections. RESULTS: The visual cortex, the cerebellar vermis and hemispheres, and the postcentral cortex were significantly atrophic. The visual cortex was slightly hypointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images, probably representing the pathologic changes of status spongiosus. CONCLUSION: MR demonstrated the lesions, located in the calcarine area, cerebellum, and postcentral gyri, which are probably related to three of the characteristic manifestations of this disease: the constriction of the visual fields, ataxia, and sensory disturbance, respectively.
Authors: Lauren E Salminen; Rand R Wilcox; Alyssa H Zhu; Brandalyn C Riedel; Christopher R K Ching; Faisal Rashid; Sophia I Thomopoulos; Arvin Saremi; Marc B Harrison; Anjanibhargavi Ragothaman; Victoria Knight; Christina P Boyle; Sarah E Medland; Paul M Thompson; Neda Jahanshad Journal: Cereb Cortex Date: 2019-12-17 Impact factor: 5.357