Beeldvorming van de hersenontwikkeling bij te vroeg geborenen

- In 3 studies brain maturation in 42 preterm infants with no or minor cerebral deviations was examined with MRI. - With a scoring system 5 stadia in gyral development were recognized, which corresponded to the gestational age (duration of amenorrhoea of the pregnant woman). - At a gestational age between 30 and 34 weeks, myelin was present in many brain stem, diencephalic and cerebellar structures, but only in a few hemispheric structures. Little progress in myelination was noticed up to the gestational age of 46 weeks. - Remnants of the germinal matrix formed a sharp contrast with the immature unmyelinated periventricular white matter and had a characteristic appearance on MR images before term age. Broad periventricular zones with subtle change of signal intensity were also physiological in this age group. - Zones with more outspoken signal intensity change compared with the rest of the cerebral white matter were, however, not physiological and represent mild ischaemic change of the periventricular white matter.