[Relationship between child epilepsy and MRI findings in von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis (NF 1)].

Fourteen children meeting the NIH consensus diagnostic criteria for NF 1 were evaluated at the Department of Pediatrics, Himeji Red Cross Hospital. MRI and EEG were examined in all patients, respectively. Four of 14 patients had a history of epilepsy, two had suffered West syndrome, one had complex partial seizures and one had secondary generalized partial epilepsy. Seven (50%) of 14 patients showed abnormal MRI; three (75%) of 4 patients with epilepsy and four (40%) of 10 patients with epilepsy showed low intensity on T1 weighted images and hyperintensity on T2 weighted images in the globus pallidus and brainstem. These results suggest that children with NF 1 have a spectrum of MRI abnormalities, irrespective of existence of epilepsy.