Magnetic resonance imaging of the cerebellum and brain stem in children with cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to examine the volumes of cerebellum and the brain stem in children with cerebral palsy (CP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present study included 21 children with spastic diplegic CP (11 girls and 10 boys). Twenty-one patients with CP were age- and gender-matched with the control patients. All subjects were free from neurological or psychiatric disease, had normal intellectual development, and their brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were normal. MRI of forty-two patients were reviewed prospectively. RESULTS: The CP group had significantly smaller mean of the cerebellar hemispheres and the brain stem than did the control group. The cerebellar volumes were positively correlated with age of children with CP and the control group. No significant correlations between gender and the volumes of cerebellar hemispheres and the brain stem in controls and in the CP group were found. No significant correlations between asphyxia and the volumes of cerebellar hemispheres and the brain stem in the CP group were noted. Positive correlation between the cerebellum volume and IQ scores in children with CP was found. Negative relationship between the cerebellar hemispheres volume and Gross Motor Function Classification System in patients with CP was found. No significant correlation between the brain stem volume and IQ scores in the CP group was detected. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that children with CP had smaller volumes of the cerebellum and the brain stem as compared to controls.