Concentric sclerosis: imaging diagnosis and clinical analysis of 3 cases.

ABSTRACT

Baló's Concentric sclerosis (BCS) is a rare demyelinating disease considered to be a variant of multiple sclerosis (MS). The typical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes associated with BCS consist of concentric rings or onions' cross-section on T1-weighted (T1W) images. Because MRI reveals pathological changes consistent with autopsy in the focus of BCS, it plays an important role in the before-death diagnosis of BCS. We report three cases of BCS diagnosed antemortem on the basis of the typical concentric rings pattern on MRI and on the basis of clinical findings and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination. BCS often occurs in the prime of life, acutely or subacutely. Then come cerebral multifocal symptoms and signs. We find that BCS is not always an acute and irreversible pathological process as described in the past.