Positron emission tomography scanning: applications in newborns.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging technique that allows local chemical and physiologic functions in various body organs to be measured. Studies of local cerebral glucose metabolism in infants and children using PET have provided important information on human brain functional development and plasticity. In the neonate, PET studies have provided important clues into the pathophysiology of hypoxic-ischemic injury. Patterns of cerebral glucose utilization in various clinical subtypes of cerebral palsy associated with perinatal brain injury are discussed and contrasted to metabolic patterns seen in cerebral palsy without clear etiology. Expanding PET technology provides a new approach that holds great promise in the diagnosis and management of brain disorders affecting the neonate.