J Korean Radiol Soc.  2008 Aug;59(2):65-73. 10.3348/jkrs.2008.59.2.65.

CT and MR Findings of Neurological Disorders Associated with Pregnancy and Childbirth

• Kim JY
• Ahn KJ
• Kim YJ
• Kim BS
• Hahn ST

• KMID: 1479046
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jkrs.2008.59.2.65

Abstract

The onset of pregnancy may predispose women to a variety of neurological diseases due to changes in their hemodynamics, hormonal effects, and complications associated with childbirth. The spectrum of neurological disorders associated with pregnancy and childbirth include hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhaging, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) (secondary to eclampsia), Wernicke encephalopathy, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, Sheehan's syndrome, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (secondary to pulmonary amniotic fluid embolism), multifocal infarctions, and extra-potine myelinolysis. The recognition of the various imaging findings of these diseases, along with the clinical presentations, should aid in their early diagnosis and prompt treatment. The purpose of this pictorial assay is to describe the characteristic CT and MR findings of these diseases with a literature review to explain the mechanisms and clinical symptoms.

Keyword

Brain; Pregnancy Complications; Childbirth; Tomography, X-Ray computed; Magnetic resonance (MR)

MeSH Terms

Amniotic Fluid
Brain
Early Diagnosis
Female
Hemodynamics
Humans
Hypopituitarism
Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain
Infarction
Nervous System Diseases
Parturition
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications
Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Wernicke Encephalopathy