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Glaucoma in the Setting of Sturge Weber Syndrome

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This is a CT scan of the head

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in a three-month-old child with seizures,

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with a right-sided facial birthmark and clinical findings

0:11

strongly suggestive of Sturge-Weber syndrome.

0:15

Looking at the CAT scan, we can see volume

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loss in the right cerebral hemisphere

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with areas of increased density.

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This increased density is likely

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related to dystrophic mineralization

0:27

associated with the volume loss that

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would be seen in Sturge-Weber syndrome.

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Now, while there's volume loss in the right

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cerebral hemisphere, we're seeing prominence

0:37

of CSF space overlying both cerebral

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hemispheres, and MRI was performed, and we

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can actually, if we look closely, we can

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see the dura here and we see the cortical

0:51

veins and we see a separation between the

0:54

cortical veins and the inner table cortex.

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and we're seeing near complete

0:59

flare suppression of signal here.

1:02

So this is either a subdural hygroma

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or a proteinaceous effusion with

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very low proteinaceous content.

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Let's see what else is going on.

1:13

So we're not definitely seeing

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a subdural collection overlying

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the right cerebral hemisphere.

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But we're also not seeing as many

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of these cortical veins as we did.

1:23

We're seeing more little serpentine

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vessels that are potentially collateral

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vessels, but we're not seeing this

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normal constitution of cortical veins.

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overlying the right cerebral hemisphere.

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That is a characteristic feature

1:42

of Sturge-Weber syndrome.

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If we look at the post-contrast imaging, we're

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seeing extensive leptomeningeal enhancement

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overlying the right cerebral hemisphere,

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related to leptomeningeal collateral vessels.

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Now, we're also seeing hypertrophy

2:00

of the right choroid plexus.

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It's unclear whether that's related to the

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collateral venous flow and venous congestion,

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or whether that is a primary process.

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What else are we seeing?

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In addition to this, we look at the globes.

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This is the left eye, the normal eye, the

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axial length from the cornea to the back of

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the retina is approximately 20 millimeters.

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19 to 20 millimeters is

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approximately normal for a newborn.

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In the right eye, it's 22 millimeters.

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That's larger than we would expect.

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Separate from that, the anterior

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chamber between the cornea and the lens

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is approximately three millimeters.

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On the right, the interchamber is approximately

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four millimeters, so it's asymmetric.

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The corneal width is 13 millimeters on

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the right, is 12 millimeters on the left,

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but I think it looks larger on the right.

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And again, while it may sound like it's

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only a millimeter difference, those are very

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profound differences in a child this age.

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This here with the increased size of the

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eye and increased depth of the interior

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chamber is suggestive of glaucoma.

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Now, the diagnosis of glaucoma is made by

3:31

measuring the intraocular pressure, but This

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here is an imaging appearance that is strongly

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suggested that there is right-sided glaucoma.

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If I zoom in on the orbits on the T1 post

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contrast imaging, I see this thin rim of

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enhancement along the posterior aspect

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of the right globe, along the retina.

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This is likely related to retinal angiomatosis.

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So retinal angiomatosis is a feature associated

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with Sturge-Weber syndrome, ipsilateral to the

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port-wine stain, ipsilateral to the cerebral

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abnormalities, and is associated with glaucoma.

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So between this enhancement, the enlarged

4:19

axial length, and the increased depth of the

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anterior chamber, and potentially increased

4:24

width of the cornea, this is strongly suggestive

4:28

that this patient has right-sided glaucoma.

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This is important to know because this patient

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needs to see an ophthalmologist, potentially

4:35

a glaucoma specialist, as soon as possible.

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Sturge-Weber patients normally get

4:41

eye exams, but this patient needs

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an examination as soon as possible.

4:45

Glaucoma and Sturge-Weber syndrome are

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notoriously very challenging for the

4:51

ophthalmologist to manage, but it also

4:54

can be potentially vision-threatening.

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So this is the type of finding where if

4:58

you see this, even though it's just a

5:00

millimeter or so difference, it's something

5:03

that can really help guide management

5:05

and help get them to an ophthalmologist

5:08

faster than they normally would have.

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So this patient has Sturge-Weber syndrome with

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significant involvement in the right cerebral

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hemisphere with dystrophic mineralization,

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leptomeningeal enhancement, ipsilateral

5:19

choroid plexus hypertrophy, ipsilateral retinal

5:23

angiomatosis, ipsilateral enlarged right eye,

5:29

and signs suggestive of right-sided glaucoma.

Report

Description

Faculty

Asim F Choudhri, MD

Chief, Pediatric Neuroradiology

Le Bonheur Children's Hospital

Tags

Syndromes

Pediatrics

Neuroradiology

Neuro

MRI

Congenital

Brain

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