RESUMO
Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), the principal form of brain injury in the premature infant, is characterized by overt focal necrotic lesions in periventricular white matter and less prominent, more diffuse cerebral white matter injury. The early detection of the latter, diffuse component of PVL is not consistently possible with conventional brain imaging techniques. We demonstrate the early detection of the diffuse component of PVL by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI). In a premature infant with no definite cerebral abnormality detectable by cranial ultrasonography or conventional magnetic resonance imaging, DWI showed a striking bilateral decrease in water diffusion in cerebral white matter. The DWI abnormality (ie, decreased apparent diffusion coefficient) was similar to that observed with acute cerebral ischemic lesions in adults. At 10 weeks of age, conventional magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography showed striking changes consistent with PVL, including the presence of small cysts. The observations indicate the importance of DWI in the early identification of the diffuse component of PVL and also perhaps the role of ischemia in the pathogenesis of the lesion.
Assuntos
Leucomalácia Periventricular/diagnóstico , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Feminino , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Recém-Nascido PrematuroRESUMO
We report the development of spastic diplegia in infants during the course of interferon Alfa-2a (IFN) therapy for potentially life-endangering hemangiomas. Five infants who displayed diplegia were selected from a group of 26 infants treated with IFN. Diplegia persisted in three infants, and in the remaining two significant recovery occurred after IFN was discontinued. Magnetic resonance imaging showed no significant brain or spinal abnormalities except minor to moderate delayed myelination in two patients. Myelination was normal on subsequent radiographic examination in all five patients. We conclude that IFN can adversely affect the immature central nervous system and produce spastic diplegia, which is potentially reversible. We recommend careful clinical assessment of neurodevelopmental status during IFN therapy.
Assuntos
Paralisia Cerebral/etiologia , Hemangioma/terapia , Interferon-alfa/efeitos adversos , Paralisia Cerebral/fisiopatologia , Feminino , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Interferon alfa-2 , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética , Proteínas RecombinantesRESUMO
Phenylketonuria (PKU) produces white matter changes identifiable by magnetic resonance imaging. These changes occur postnatally. Offspring of untreated mothers with PKU also have a brain effect, expressed as microcephaly and mental retardation. This effect occurs prenatally. To determine whether the white matter changes seen in PKU are also present in maternal PKU offspring, despite the different developmental stages of exposure to PKU, we performed brain magnetic resonance imaging studies in seven maternal PKU offspring, five from essentially untreated pregnancies and two from treated pregnancies. None had white matter changes, although the one offspring with PKU had delayed myelination. However, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum was present in three of the four offspring from untreated pregnancies and in the offspring from a maternal PKU pregnancy not treated until the third trimester. Unlike PKU, white matter changes are not a feature of the brain effect in maternal PKU. However, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum is a feature of maternal PKU and is probably a result of inhibition of corpus callosum development at 8 to 20 weeks of gestation. The hypoplastic corpus callosum could be a marker for brain effect in maternal PKU and may have implications for the cognitive deficits in these offspring.