Serial Diffusion Tensor Images during Infancy and Their Relationship to Neuromotor Outcomes in Preterm Infants

Abstract

Background: Even preterm infants with normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results are at greater risk for neuromotor dysfunction. Objectives: Our aim was to compare serial diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from preterm infants without apparent brain abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging with those from term controls and to investigate the white matter (WM) region associated with neuromotor outcomes. Methods: We obtained serial DTIs from 21 preterm infants at term-equivalent age (TEA) and 1 year of corrected age. As controls, 15 term neonates and 20 newly recruited term infants aged 1 year underwent DTI. Preterm and term infants at 1 year of age were assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, second edition. Tract-based spatial statistics and regions of interest were used for analysis. Results: At TEA, the entire WM development was delayed in the preterm infants compared with the term controls, but at 1 year of age, the WM development, except for that of the corpus callosum (CC), had reached the development level of the term controls. The psychomotor developmental index was positively correlated with the fractional anisotropy (FA) in the CC (particularly in the body and splenium) at 1 year of age after correcting for gestational age, chronic lung disease, and postnatal infection. Conclusions: The CC of the preterm infants was consistently underdeveloped compared with that of the term controls. The FA in the CC, particularly in the body and splenium at 1 year of age, well reflected the degree of motor function in infants without apparent brain abnormalities.

A New Ultrasound Marker for Bedside Monitoring of Preterm Brain Growth

“…16 Prematurity is known to affect CC development, by the early transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life and by postnatal stress and injury, 17 leading to both structural and functional impairment. 18,19 Associations have been found between the length and thickness of the CC and brain volumes and neurodevelopmental outcome. 11,20,21 Further studies should elucidate whether CC length can be considered a proxy of telencephalon development, creating an impression of white matter development and brain maturation.…”

Functional variation of SHP-2 promoter is associated with preterm birth and delayed myelination and motor development in preterm infants

“…TBSS is an observer-independent tool used for analyzing DTI data 29 . Using TBSS, brain maturation and tract organization can be detected across all white matter areas in the absence of apparent brain abnormalities in preterm infants 30, 31 . In general, FA increases with age, which is believed to reflect white matter maturations such as fiber coherence, axonal density, and myelination 32 .…”

“…DTIs were obtained using 3-tesla MRI (Phillips, Foster City, CA, USA) at 18–22 months of corrected age as described previously 31, 40 . Before obtaining the DTIs, 3D MPRAGE images and high-resolution T1- and T2-weighted images were obtained.…”

“…DTI sequence parameters were substituted as follows: b = 0 and 800 s/mm 2 and TR/TE = 10,100/76 ms. The scanning times for the DTI sequences were 7 min and 36 s at TEA and 10 min and 18 s. TBSS was performed as described in our previous study 31 to compare the degree of myelination between the SHP-2 promoter variant (g.-273A) and control (g.-273G) groups. Briefly, all the FA images were aligned to a target in a common space using an optimized TBSS protocol for neonates 41 .…”

Neuropsychiatric status of infants with intrauterine growth retardation

“…Shim и др. [38] отмечают, что при МРТ используются импульсные последовательности с получением диффузионновзвешенных томограмм, Т1-и Т2-взвешенных томограмм, анализ которых позволяет оценить архитектонику головного мозга. Исследования D. Thompson и соавт.…”