Neurosarcoidosis - Findings in MRI

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. Neurologic manifestations occur usually as a part of the spectrum of the systemic disease. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of patients with neurosarcoidosis (NS). Seven patients with sarcoidosis could be included into the study. All patients had neurological symptoms and were evaluated with MRI revealing a wide spectrum of findings: periventricular and white matter lesions, multiple or solitary supra- and infratentorial brain lesions, leptomeningeal enhancement, involvement of brain nerves and intramedullar lesions. These findings are not specific for sarcoidosis and must be considered with the clinical course of the patient in arriving at the correct diagnosis. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.