Multiple sclerosis in children: report of two cases.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of white matter in the central nervous system characterized by clinically relapsing and remitting course. It is rare in children and the mean age of onset is about 30 years. To establish diagnosis, one must note that white matter lesions are disseminated in time and place. We report two female patients with recurrent episodes of headaches, seizures, hemiparesis, and optic neuritis since childhood. Four of the five CT scans done during the relapse attacks in these two patients showed negative findings. The only one abnormal finding was decreased density in the white matter over the right frontoparietal area. MRI showed multiple focal patches of high signal intensity in white matter on T2-weighted image in Case 1, and increased signal intensity on the right paraventricular region on T2-weighted image in Case 2. Now, MRI is the neuroimaging test of choice, and makes early diagnosis possible. It is useful in assessing the extent of multiple sclerosis and in monitoring the clinical course.