MRI-based Biomarkers for the Prognosis Judgement of Punctate White Matter Lesions in Neonates: a Longitudinal Multicenter Study

As a common white matter (WM) disease in preterm neonates, punctate white matter lesion (PWML) frequently leads to the abnormalities of brain development (e.g. the motor, visual and auditory disorders), even to cerebral palsy (CP) and amblyopia during childhood. However, it is lack of certain methods in identifying the prognosis of PWML. Through using various advanced MRI techniques, neuro-behavioral and visual assessments, a multicenter longitudinal study would be conducted to follow-up the PWML neonates with varying spatial-position and degree lesions. Through tracking the variations in WM microstructures from neonate period to childhood (2 years old and 3 years old), this study aims to explore (1) the potential relations between varying PWMLs and motor and visual disorders (2) the relations between WM MRI-metrics and neurodevelopmental assessment results, and thus determine the early biomarkers to identify CP and amblyopia.