J Korean Soc Radiol.  2011 Nov;65(5):461-464.

Magnetic Resonance Finding of Acute Marchiafava-Bignami Disease with Diffuse Involvement: A Case Report

• Heo YJ
• Jeong HW
• In HS

Abstract

Marchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) is a rare toxic disorder strongly associated with chronic alcoholism (1-3, 6, 7). It is characterized by progressive demyelination and necrosis of the corpus callosum. The process may extend to neighboring white matter and subcortical regions. We report a case of MBD in which fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and diffusion-weighted imaging revealed symmetrical hyperintense lesions with diffuse involvement of the corpus callosum, white matter, corticospinal tract, internal capsule, and middle cerebellar peduncle (3, 4, 8).

MeSH Terms

Alcoholism
Corpus Callosum
Demyelinating Diseases
Humans
Internal Capsule
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Magnetics
Magnets
Marchiafava-Bignami Disease
Necrosis
Pyramidal Tracts

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Axial diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images obtained upon admission show symmetrical hyperintense lesions involving the middle cerebellar peduncle (A), corticospinal tract (B), posterior limb of internal capsule and the splenium of the corpus callosum (C), as well as the corpus callosum and white matter (D). Sagittal image shows the involvement of the entire corpus callosum (E). Axial T2WI (F) and FLAIR (G) images also showing hyperintense lesions in the posterior limb of the internal capsule and splenium of the corpus callousum. Note.-FLAIR = fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, T2WI = T2-weighted image

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  Fig. 2 Follow-up diffusion weighted magnetic resonance images obtained 11 months after the initial study show the disappearance of signal-intensity abnormalities including middle cerebellar peduncle (A), corticospinal tract (B), posterior limb of the internal capsule and splenium of the corpus callosum (C), as well as the corpus callosum and white matter (D).

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