Neurosciences & Mental Health, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Semin Pediatr Neurol. 2013 Jun;20(2):65-74. doi: 10.1016/j.spen.2013.06.007.
Infants born very preterm are high risk for acquired brain injury and disturbances in brain maturation. Although survival rates for preterm infants have increased in the last decades owing to improved neonatal intensive care, motor disabilities including cerebral palsy persist, and impairments in cognitive, language, social, and executive functions have not decreased. Evidence from neuroimaging studies exploring brain structure, function, and metabolism has indicated abnormalities in the brain development trajectory of very preterm-born infants that persist through to adulthood. In this chapter, we review neuroimaging approaches for the identification of brain injury in the preterm neonate. Advances in medical imaging and availability of specialized equipment necessary to scan infants have facilitated the feasibility of conducting longitudinal studies to provide greater understanding of early brain injury and atypical brain development and their effects on neurodevelopmental outcome. Improved understanding of the risk factors for acquired brain injury and associated factors that affect brain development in this population is setting the stage for improving the brain health of children born preterm.
早产儿出生后患获得性脑损伤和脑成熟障碍的风险很高。尽管由于新生儿重症监护的改善，早产儿的存活率在过去几十年中有所提高，但运动障碍（包括脑瘫）仍然存在，认知、语言、社会和执行功能方面的损伤并没有减少。来自探索脑结构、功能和代谢的神经影像学研究的证据表明，早产儿的脑发育轨迹存在异常，这些异常一直持续到成年。在本章中，我们回顾了用于识别早产儿脑损伤的神经影像学方法。医学成像的进步以及扫描婴儿所需的专用设备的可用性，促进了进行纵向研究的可行性，从而更深入地了解早期脑损伤和异常脑发育及其对神经发育结果的影响。更好地了解获得性脑损伤的风险因素以及影响该人群脑发育的相关因素，为改善早产儿的大脑健康奠定了基础。
