These images are from an 36 year old woman, who carried
the diagnosis of Down's syndrome, with mental retardation and a question of
progressive mental decline. Cerebral calcinosis, calcification of various
regions of the brain, is found in a wide range of disorders, and is often found
in normal people. That is, it can represent a sporadic condition with normal
calcium metabolism. Less common associations are with hypoparathyroidism,
pseudo-hypoparathyroidism, Fahr's familial idiopathic cerebral calcificatinon,
birth anoxia, carbon monoxide intoxication, lead poisoning, Tuberous Sclerosis,
Cockaynes syndrome, postinfectious encephalomyelitis, AIDS, radiation therapy,
methotrexate, mitochondrial disease (Kearns-Sayer), and, as in the case shown
here, Down's syndrome.
