This study investigates the morphometry of Heschl's gyrus and its included primary auditory cortex (PAC) in hearing impaired (HI) and normal hearing (NH) infants. Fourty-two infants, age 8-19 months, with NH (n = 26) or hearing impairment (n = 16) were studied using high-resolution 3D magnetic resonance imaging. Gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes were obtained using software for automatic brain imaging segmentation to estimate the volume of each tissue within manually defined regions for the anterior portion of Heschl's gyrus (aHG) in each individual subject, transformed to an infant brain template space. Interactions among group (HI, NH), tissue type (GM, WM), and hemisphere (left, right) were examined using analysis of variance. Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry was utilized to explore volume differences between groups across the entire brain. The HI group showed increased GM and decreased WM in aHG compared with the NH group; likely effects of auditory deprivation. The HI group did not exhibit their typical L > R asymmetry pattern that the NH group showed. Increased GM in aHG in HI infants may represent abnormal cortical development in PAC as seen in animal models of sensory deprivation. Lower WM volume is consistent with studies with deaf adults.

Our data showed that white matter lesion is more extensive as disease duration increases, especially in mucopolysaccharidosis type II patients. MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy findings did not correlate with either enzymatic or glycosaminoglycan levels.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:There are no reliable markers to predict neurologic outcome of patients with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) II. We hypothesized that brain MR imaging and MR spectroscopy are useful in depicting features related to cognitive impairment (CI) in MPS II.

MPS VI patients may present abnormal IQ scores without correlation with brain abnormalities on the MRI, a finding which was found to be very frequent in MPS VI. Additional studies are required to confirm our findings.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Preeclampsia is a gestational disease that occurs mainly among nulliparous women after the 20 th week of gestation, and frequently close to delivery. The effects of preeclampsia on women's blood pressure over the long term are still controversial. Patients with recurrent preeclampsia or preeclampsia in the early stages of pregnancy appear to present higher risk of hypertension. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for cardiovascular disease among women with preeclampsia 10 years earlier. DESIGN AND SETTING:Cross-sectional study at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). METHODS:Forty women with preeclampsia and 14 normotensive pregnant women followed up 10 or more years earlier at HCPA underwent clinical and laboratory examinations. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to correlate body mass index (BMI) and systolic and diastolic pressures. The risk of developing hypertension was measured using the chi-square test. P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS:The patients with preeclampsia 10 or more years earlier had significantly higher diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.047), BMI (P = 0.019) and abdominal circumference (P = 0.026). They presented positive correlations between BMI and diastolic blood pressure (0.341; P = 0.031) and between BMI and systolic blood pressure (0.407; P = 0.009). CONCLUSION:The patients with preeclampsia 10 or more years earlier had significantly higher diastolic blood pressure, BMI and abdominal circumference than did the control group. This emphasizes the importance of long-term follow-up assessment for cardiovascular risk factors among patients with preeclampsia.RESUMO CONTEXTO E OBJETIVO: Pré-eclâmpsia é uma doença gestacional que ocorre principalmente em mulheres nulíparas, após a vigésima semana de gestação e frequentemente próximo do parto. Os efeitos da pré-eclâmpsia sobre a pressão sanguínea das mulheres a longo prazo ainda são controversos.Pacientes com pré-eclâmpsia recorrente ou pré-eclâmpsia na fase inicial da gestação parecem apresentar maior risco para hipertensão. O objetivo foi determinar os fatores de risco para doença cardiovascular em mulheres com pré-eclâmpsia há 10 anos. TIPO DE ESTUDO E LOCAL: Estudo transversal, realizado no Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA).MÉTODO: Quarenta mulheres com pré-eclâmpsia e 14 mulheres grávidas com pressão arterial normal acompanhadas há 10 anos ou mais no HCPA foram submetidas a exames clínicos e laboratoriais. Para se encontrar a correlação entre índice de massa corporal (IMC) e as pressões sistólica e diastólica, foi calculado o coeficiente de correlação de Spearman. O risco de desenvolvimento de hipertensão foi calculado através do teste de qui-quadrado. P < 0,05 foi considerado significante. RESULTADOS:Pacientes com pré-eclâmpsia há 10 anos ou mais tiveram pressão arterial diastólica (PAD) (P = 0,047), IMC (P = 0,019) e circunferência abdominal (P = 0,026) mais elevadas e apresentaram correlações positivas entre IMC e PAD (0,341, P = 0,031) e sistólica (0,4...