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MRI findings in an adolescent with type I citrullinaemia

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Abstract

Citrullinaemia is a rare inborn error of urea cycle metabolism. We describe the MRI findings in a 16-year-old boy with type I citrullinaemia during an episode of acute hyperammonaemic encephalopathy and compare them to his previous follow-up MRI studies. MRI revealed bilateral high signal intensity in the cingulate, perirolandic, parietal and temporoinsular cortex, the subcortical white matter and left thalamus. Diffusion-weighted imaging showed high signal intensity and low apparent diffusion coefficient values in the frontoparietal lobes. To our knowledge, MRI findings in an adolescent with type I citrullinaemia have not been previously reported. Since our patient’s neuroradiological findings showed greater similarity to type II citrullinaemia, we think his brain injury during this acute episode was probably age-related and independent of the type of citrullinaemia.

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Correspondence to Daniela Longo.

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Longo, D., Delfino, L., Genovese, E. et al. MRI findings in an adolescent with type I citrullinaemia. Pediatr Radiol 38, 237–240 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-007-0650-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-007-0650-7

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