Ces radiol. 2023, 77(2):94-102 | DOI: 10.55095/CesRadiol2023/011

Corpus callosum atrophy on MRI - differential diagnosis and practical relevanceReview article

Anna Kavková, Jiří Keller
Radiodiagnostické oddělení, Nemocnice Na Homolce, Praha
3. lékařská fakulta UK, Praha

Corpus callosum (CC) is the largest brain commissure interconnecting the leftand right cerebral hemisphere. It consists of fibers projecting mainly tohomotopical cortical regions and is well visualized on the conventional MRscans. The main types of callosal abnormalities are congenital defects, signalchanges and atrophy, where the first two are rarely unnoticed and unreported -contrary to atrophy, which is frequently attributed to the old age only. Asidefrom age-related involution, callosal atrophy may be caused by a broadspectrum of pathological conditions damaging either white or gray matter.Demyelinating conditions lead to CC atrophy by primary damage of white matter.Loss of cortical neurons and subsequent wallerian degeneration lead to loss ofaxons projecting through CC and its secondary atrophy. Because fibers in CCare topographically arranged, loss of neurons in certain cortical regionscorresponds to loss of fibers (and thus loss of volume) in certain segments ofCC, resulting in regional callosal atrophy. The aim of this article is toprovide a broader view on the atrophy of corpus callosum, present itsdifferential diagnosis and potential practical use.

Keywords: corpus callosum atrophy, dementia, diffuse axonal injury,Marchiafava-Bignami disease, multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases
Grants and funding:

Práce byla podpořena grantem MZČR NV 18-0400346 a DRO (NHH, 00023884).

Published: June 1, 2023  Show citation

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Kavková A, Keller J. Corpus callosum atrophy on MRI - differential diagnosis and practical relevance. Ces radiol. 2023;77(2):94-102. doi: 10.55095/CesRadiol2023/011.
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