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Brain MRI findings in 5 cases of chronic lead toxicity
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Abstract
SUMMARY
Lead is a heavy metal, it can be toxic to many organs in the body, among them are bone marrow, muscles, kidneys, endocrine glands, joints and nervous system. Encephalopathy is a rare but severe complication. In this report, we presented the brain MRI findings in 5 cases with blood lead level greater than normal and the clinical symptoms of lead poisoning. The results show, there are three types of images: (1) Edema and hyperintensive lesions on T2W and T2W FLAIR images in the insula and basal ganglia, symmetrical at both sides, caused by vascular injury. (2) Hyperintensive lesions on T1W images at the head of caudate nucleus and globus pallidus, considered to be due to metabolic disorder, which causes deposition of T1- intense elements there. (3) Normal brain MR images. MRI is
a diagnostic imaging technique with high resolution, an useful mean for early detection of brain damage in patients with chronic
lead poisoning.
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References
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