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Radiologic differences in white matter maturation between preterm and full-term infants: TBSS study

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Abstract

Background

Widespread white matter (WM) pathology in preterm children has been proposed.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate maturational differences of WM between preterm infants with thinning of the corpus callosum and full-term infants.

Materials and methods

A total of 18 preterm children and 18 full-term children were divided into three subgroups according to the corrected age at the time of diffusion tensor imaging scanning. Tract-based spatial statistics was used for assessing differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) between preterm and full-term children, and between each age-related subgroup in preterm and in full-term children.

Results

In the preterm group, FA values of overall WM showed an increase with age. This trend indicates that WM maturation is a gradual occurrence during a child’s first 2 years. In the full-term group, most WM structures had reached maturation at around 1 year of age; however, centrum semiovale level showed sustained maturation during the first 2 years.

Conclusion

Results of our study demonstrate radiologic maturational differences of WM and provide evidence of the need for therapeutic intervention within 2 years of birth to prevent specific functional impairment and to improve clinical outcome in preterm children.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012-013997).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, 317-1 Daemyungdong, Namku, Taegu, South Korea, 705-717

    Ah Young Lee, Sung Ho Jang, Sang Ho Ahn, Hee Kyung Cho, Hae Min Jo & Su Min Son

  2. Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Taegu, South Korea

    Eunsil Lee

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  1. Ah Young Lee
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  2. Sung Ho Jang
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  3. Eunsil Lee
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Correspondence to Su Min Son.

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Lee, A.Y., Jang, S.H., Lee, E. et al. Radiologic differences in white matter maturation between preterm and full-term infants: TBSS study. Pediatr Radiol 43, 612–619 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-012-2545-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-012-2545-5

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