Brain Imaging Abnormalities in Autism Disorders

Background: Autism disorders are heterogeneous complex group of chronic disorders that have become increasingly known as pervasive developmental disorders since the 1980s. They include five main disorders associated with significant early impairment in socialization, communication, and behavior. Autism disorders have recently been called autism spectrum disorder mostly by the American Psychiatric Association, and the term pervasive developmental disorders have been used with the term autism spectrum disorder interchangeably. The association of autism disorders with significant brain imaging abnormalities has been infrequently reported. The aim of this paper is to report the association of brain imaging abnormalities in four autistic children. Patients and Methods: Four autistic patients (three boys and one girl) who had brain imaging abnormalities and observed at the Children Teaching Hospital of Baghdad Medical City are described. Results: Three patients had atypical autism with mental retardation, and one boy had Heller syndrome (childhood disintegrative disorder). The girl had right anterior basal temporal small arachnoid cyst on computed tomography (CT) scan. One of the boys with atypical autism also had mild cerebral palsy attributed to birth asphyxia and his CT scan showed evidence of slight brain atrophy with mild dilatation of the ventricular system. Conclusion: Brain imaging abnormalities in patients with autism disorders include arachnoid cyst, agenesis of the corpus callosum, evidence of vasculitis (in Heller syndrome), and brain imaging abnormalities related to a coexisting condition such as cerebral palsy.