MR Intensity Abnormalities in sporadic CJD
Finkenstaedt et al 1996, results
23 of 29 patients (79%) showed hyperintensity of basal ganglia on PD and T2-weighted scans
Thalamic hyperintensity in 4/29 (14%)
Occipital cortex hyperintensity in 4/29 (14%)
Atrophy only seen in cases surviving longer than c. 6 months
Extended the same series to 157 scans
67% showed basal ganglia hyperintensity, specificity against their controls 93%
Zeidler et al 2000 (main focus = vCJD)
32 sCJD cases included: high signal in caudate and putamen not always symmetrical
reports from referring radiologists only noted high signal on 4%