Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging in Rett syndrome.

Rett syndrome (RS) is a progressive neurological disorder of females, characterized by the early onset of autistic behavior, ataxia, and "handwringing" movements. The present magnetic resonance imaging study was undertaken with the purpose of investigating whether structural brain abnormalities of RS patients are similar to those recently reported in autism. The subject population consisted of eight patients and an equal number of age- and sex-matched controls. Area and shape measurements were taken at selected anatomical levels for the following structures: brain hemisphere, corpus callosum, midbrain, pons, lobules I-V and VI-VII of the cerebellum, and head of the caudate. Results revealed significant differences in area for the whole brain hemisphere (p < 0.05) and in both right and left caudate (p < 0.04). These morphological findings are different from those recently reported in autism and emphasize the involvement of the striatal system in RS.