RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in survivors of very low birth weight
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 279
OP 283
DO 10.1136/adc.87.4.279
VO 87
IS 4
A1 L J Abernethy
A1 M Palaniappan
A1 R W I Cooke
YR 2002
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/87/4/279.abstract
AB Background: Children who survive very low birth weight (VLBW) without major disability have a high prevalence of learning difficulty, attention deficit, and dyspraxia. Aims: To determine whether learning difficulty in children with VLBW is associated with structural brain abnormalities. Methods: A total of 87 children (aged 15–16 years) with a history of VLBW (<1500 g) and eight age matched full term controls have been studied with detailed magnetic resonance brain scans. Volume measurements of the caudate nuclei and hippocampal formations were made. Results: Scans in 42.5% of the children showed evidence of perinatal brain injury. There was no significant difference in IQ, dyspraxia, or attention deficit between children with qualitatively normal and abnormal scans. However, quantitative volumetric analysis showed that children with a low IQ had smaller volume measurements for the right caudate nucleus and left hippocampus, and a smaller hippocampal ratio (left volume:right volume) than those with normal IQ. Conclusion: Data suggest that learning disorder, attention deficit, and dyspraxia in children who survive VLBW do not correlate with conventional markers of perinatal brain injury, and may be related to global brain growth and the development of key structures, such as the caudate nuclei and hippocampal formations.