THE ABILITY OF NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES (ULTRASOUND, MRI) IN THE EVALUATION OF POST-HYPOXEMIC CHANGES OF THE BRAIN IN PRETERM INFANTS

Abstract

Perinatal posthypoxic brain damage in newborns is an important problem. There is a decrease in the gestational age of prematurely born children in intensive care units and nursing premature babies. But at the same time, the level of morbidity associated with brain damage caused by both immaturity and pathological changes inherent in prematurity, as well as problems of resuscitation and nursing of premature children, remains high. The study shows the advantage of MRI of the brain in premature infants in the diagnosis of posthypoxic changes in the white matter of the brain, violation of myelination of cerebral structures in comparison with the possibilities of neurosonographic research. Similar data were obtained by other researchers. The main forms of posthypoxic changes in the brain in premature infants, represented by atrophic form (reduction in the volume of white matter), dysmyelination, PVL and their combination, are highlighted. This study uses a method for quantifying the degree of myelination to diagnose delayed maturation of cerebral structures based on MRI results in premature infants who received long term respiratory therapy. It is shown that the delay of myelination (M1-M2) was determined in 54 % of these children. The results of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in premature infants of the two study groups demonstrate that a characteristic feature of cerebral ischemia in premature infants is predominant damage to the white matter of the brain.