Turkish Neurosurgery 2003 , Vol 13 , Num 1-2
BILATERAL STRIOPALLIDODENTATE CALCINOSIS: REPORT OF TWO CASES AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Başar ATALAY, Murad BAVBEK, Hakan CANER, Nur ALTINÖRS
Başkent University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey Objectives: Striopallidodentate calcinosis is a relatively rare pathological condition encountered in neurological practice that presents with a range of clinical symptoms. Often this lesion is first detected as an incidental finding on radiological examination.

Patients and Methods: We report two cases of bilateral striopallidodentate calcinosis that presented with headache and paresthesia, and featured similar radiological findings. One patient was a 49-year-old woman who had been operated for thyrotoxicosis due to Grave's disease 18 years ago. The other patient was a 62year-old man who presented with low-back pain. Both patients' neurological examination were normal. Results: In both patients, cranial computerized tomography revealed bilateral diffuse calcifications in the cerebellum, basal ganglia, thalamus and white matter. First patient had postoperative hypocalcemia due to hypoparathyroidism and in the other patient there were no abnormal findings on blood biochemistry testing and endocrinologic screening

Conclusion: Bilateral intracerebral calcification is usually detected as an incidental radiological finding. It is important to diagnose the underlying pathology because most causes, such as hypoparathyroidism, are treatable. Asymptomatic patients should be followed carefully because cerebellar symptoms, parkinsonian symptoms, and extrapyramidal and cognitive abnormalities may develop over time. Keywords : Fahr's disease, hypoparathyroidism, striopallidodentate calcinosis