Faculty Opinions recommendation of Clinical findings and white matter abnormalities seen on diffusion tensor imaging in adolescents with very low birth weight.

Background: Brain injury in premature infants (BIPI) is a severe brain damage in premature infants, resulting in a series of neurological sequelae. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, is more widely used for premature infants. It is of paramount importance to improve the early diagnosis, treatment, and intervention for this population by using DTI. There are few reports on the application of DTI for the evaluation of BIPI in low-birth-weight (LBW) and very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants. Objectives: To analyze the clinical characteristics of BIPI in LBW and VLBW infants and to explore the value of MRI-based DTI in the evaluation of BIPI in LBW infants. Patients and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 31 cases of BIPI (16 LBW and 15 VLBW infants) and 20 normal control premature infants, undergoing MRI-based DTI at the postmenstrual age (PMA). Differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) between the BIPI and control groups and also between the LBW and VLBW groups with BIPI were analyzed. Also, differences with normal controls in terms of the FA and ADC values were investigated in different brain regions. Results: The FA values in the central white matter of the frontal lobe, central white matter of the occipital lobe, centrum semiovale, posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC), and ventral thalamus were significantly lower in the BIPI group as compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The ADCs were lower in the BIPI group compared to the control group, and there was a significant difference (P < 0.05). Comparison of FA and ADC values in the central white matter of the frontal lobe, central white matter of the occipital lobe, centrum semiovale, PLIC, and ventral thalamus did not show any significant differences between the LBW and VLBW groups with BIPI (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The FA and ADC values of DTI can be used for the quantitative evaluation of BIPI in LBW and VLBW infants. The FA value was found to be more accurate than the ADC. Overall, different FA values in different brain areas reflect differences in the brain development of normal premature infants.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of White matter abnormalities in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.13940977.15387103 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Evelyn Stewart ◽

Annie J Kuan

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

White Matter ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Imaging Study ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

White Matter Abnormalities ◽

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

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Microstructural Measures of the Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus Predict Later Cognitive and Language Development in Infants Born With Extremely Low Birth Weight

Journal of Child Neurology ◽

10.1177/08830738211019862 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088307382110198

Author(s):

Matthew C. Bugada ◽

Julia E. Kline ◽

Nehal A. Parikh

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Language Development ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Structural Mri ◽

Extremely Low Birth Weight ◽

Extremely Preterm ◽

Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus

Objective: Extremely preterm children are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Identifying predictors of discrete developmental outcomes early in life would allow for targeted neuroprotective therapies when neuroplasticity is at its peak. Our goal was to examine whether diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics of the inferior longitudinal and uncinate fasciculi early in life could predict later cognitive and language outcomes. Study Design: In this pilot study, 43 extremely low-birth-weight preterm infants were scanned using diffusion MRI at term-equivalent age. White matter tracts were assessed via diffusion tensor imaging metrics of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity. The Language and Cognitive subscale scores of the Bayley Scales of Infant & Toddler Development-III at 18-22 months corrected age were our outcomes of interest. Multiple linear regression models were created to assess diffusion metrics of the inferior longitudinal and uncinate fasciculi as predictors of Bayley scores. We controlled for brain injury score on structural MRI, maternal education, birth weight, and age at MRI scan. Results: Of the 43 infants, 36 infants had high-quality diffusion tensor imaging and returned for developmental testing. The fractional anisotropy of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus was associated with Bayley-III scores in univariate analyses and was an independent predictor of Bayley-III cognitive and language development over and above known predictors in multivariable analyses. Conclusions: Incorporating new biomarkers such as the fractional anisotropy of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus with structural MRI findings could enhance accuracy of neurodevelopment predictive models. Additional research is needed to validate our findings in a larger cohort.

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