Spontaneous improvement of optic pathway lesions in children with neurofibromatosis type 1

Neuropediatrics. 1999 Aug;30(4):205-9. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-973491.

Abstract

Two cases of spontaneous improvement of optic pathway lesions in neurofibromatosis type 1 are reported. At time of diagnosis the children were aged 21 and 32 months respectively; they have been followed by both MRI and clinical evaluation for 5 and 4 years. MRI findings of the first 19 months of follow-up for Case 1 have been described by us before. On MRI serial evaluation, Case 1 showed an almost complete normalization of the size of lesions and a resolution of enhancement, whereas Case 2 showed a slight decrease in the size of lesions and a resolution of enhancement. From the clinical point of view Case 1 showed a normalization of his clinical signs, whereas in Case 2, a visual improvement was only slight, if at all present. In Case 1, the clinical improvement seemed to follow the spontaneous regression of the lesions detected by MRI.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Male
  • Neoplasm Regression, Spontaneous*
  • Neurofibromatosis 1 / diagnosis*
  • Optic Chiasm / pathology
  • Optic Nerve / pathology
  • Optic Nerve Neoplasms / diagnosis*