Structural Brain Abnormalities in Children Born Prematurely: New Detection Methods and Clinical-Pathological Correlates

Infants born prematurely are at significant risk for hemorrhagic and ischemic brain injury. Despite improved survival rates among this population in recent years, these forms of brain injury remain frequent and have considerable consequences. Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a disease characterized by necrosis of the cerebral white matter in a characteristic distribution, is one of the most common types of brain injury seen in premature infants. MRI technology now allows for better anatomical resolution resulting in improvements in diagnostic accuracy. The current standard practice is not to perform routine MRI examinations on premature infants, nor is it routine to perform surveillance brain imaging in children after leaving the NICU. In their 2002 Practice Parameter for neuroimaging in the neonate, the American Academy of Neurology and the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society acknowledge the superiority of MRI in detection of brain lesions in premature infants, but fall short of recommending routine MRI scanning on the basis of a lack of information correlating MRI findings to neurodevelopmental outcomes. We now have a unique opportunity to help provide such information.