Intracranial bilateral symmetrical calcification on CT-scanning. A case report and a review of the literature

The case of a 57-year-old woman with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism is presented. A CT-scan showed extensive bilateral symmetrical calcification in the region of the basal ganglia, nuclei of the cerebellum and the cerebral and cerebellar white matter. A review of the literature showed that bilateral symmetrical calcification detected by CT is usually small in extent and is most often confined to the globus pallidus. It is most commonly found in patients older than 50 years, who only rarely have symptoms associated with it. The finding is, though, non-specific and may occur in a variety of pathological conditions both with and without an aetiological relationship. Further study of the cerebral parathormone responsive adenylate cyclase enzyme proves hopeful to elucidate the aetiology of idiopathic bilateral symmetrical calcification.