Diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of 1,2-dichloroethane encephalopathy - Magnetic resonance imaging combined with diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Neuroimaging findings in 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE) encephalopathy have seldom been reported. We present the comprehensive neuroimaging findings, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and ¹ H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( ¹ H-MRS), in a case of 1,2-DCE encephalopathy. On day-4 the signal intensity of the lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was higher than that with T2-weighted imaging (T2WI); mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for lesions were lower than control values. On day-20, the mean ADC value was increased gradually, whereas the mean fractional anisotropy (FA) of the lesions was significantly reduced. ¹ H-MRS showed reduced ratios of N-acetyl aspartate to creatinine (NAA/Cr) and NAA to choline (NAA/Cho) on day-20 as compared with the control values. Combining conventional MRI with DTI and MRS is valuable in the early diagnosis and prognosis of 1,2-DCE-induced encephalopathy.