Cephalic index is a highly useful method for planning surgical procedures, as well as assessing their effectiveness in correcting cranial deformations in children. There are relatively very few studies measuring cephalic index in healthy Caucasian young children. The aim of our study was to develop a classification of current cephalic index for healthy Caucasian children up to 3 years of age with normal brain development, using axial slice computer tomography performed with very thin slices (0.5 mm) resulting in more accurate measurements. 180 healthy infants (83 females and 97 males) were divided into 5 age categories: 0–3, 4–6, 7–12, 13–24, and 25–36 months. The average value of cephalic index in children up to 3 years of age amounted to 81.45 ± 7.06. The index value in case of children under 3 months was 80.19, 4 to 6 months was 81.45, 7 to 12 months was 83.15, in children under 2 years was 81.05, and in children under 3 years was 79.76. Mesocephaly is the dominating skull shape in children. In this study, we formulated a classification of current cephalic indices of children with normal brain development. Our date appears to be of utmost importance in anthropology, anatomy forensic medicine, and genetics.

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Introduction Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinical syndrome of varying aetiologies, characterised by acute neurological symptoms of brain dysfunction with MRI abnormalities in posterior cerebral white and grey matter. In most cases, symptoms resolve without neurological consequences. Aim The aim of this paper is the analysis of predisposing factors, clinical outcomes and radiological features of PRES in eight children with hemato-oncological disease. Material and methods We analysed the medical records of eight hemato-oncological patients aged from 3.0 to 16.1 years. The mean of age at primary diagnosis was 8.5 years. Results All patients had both clinical and radiological PRES features. Seven out of eight underwent intensive chemotherapy regimens. Time elapsed from start of treatment to the occurrence of PRES ranged from 6 to 556 days. In one case, PRES occurred before chemotherapy and was the first symptom of cancer. Most (six of eight) patients had history of hypertension (> 95pc) and some (two of eight) occurred electrolyte imbalance-mainly hypomagnesaemia. Patients presented headache (seven of eight), disturbances of consciousness (six of eight), seizures (six of eight), visual changes (four of eight) and vomiting (three of eight). MRI demonstrated abnormalities in seven children: typical cerebral oedema in the white matter of the occipital to the parietal lobes. Most patient lesions in the MRI shrunk after 4 weeks, and clinical symptoms of PRES disappeared completely within a few hours to few days. Conclusion PRES may complicate oncological treatment in children. Hypertension is the most important risk factor of PRES. PRES should be included in differential diagnosis in all patients with acute neurological symptoms.

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Diseases primarily affecting the basal ganglia in children result in characteristic disturbances of movement and muscle tone. Both experimental and clinical evidence indicates that the basal ganglia also play a role in higher mental states. The basal ganglia can be affected by neurometabolic, degenerative diseases or other conditions from which they must be differentiated. Neuroradiological findings in basal ganglia diseases are also known. However, they may be similar in different diseases. Their assessment in children may require repeated MRI examinations depending on the stage of brain development (mainly the level of myelination). A large spectrum of pathological changes in the basal ganglia in many diseases is caused by their vulnerability to metabolic abnormalities and chemical or ischemic trauma. The diagnosis is usually established by correlation of clinical and radiological findings. Neuroimaging of basal ganglia in neurometabolic diseases is helpful in early diagnosis and monitoring of changes for optimal therapy. This review focuses on neuroimaging of basal ganglia and its role in the differential diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism.