title: Cerebral tissue water spin-spin relaxation times in human neonates at 2.4 tesla: methodology and the effects of maturation.
abstract: Using a 4-echo spin-echo sequence, cerebral T2 was measured in specific anatomic regions in eleven healthy newborn infants, whose gestational plus postnatal ages (GPAs) lay between 37 and 42 weeks. For a region in the pons, T2 was 141+/-9 ms (mean +/- standard deviation), and no significant dependence upon GPA was seen. In the thalamus mean T2 was 136+/-13 ms, and T2 demonstrated a significant negative linear dependence upon age (r = 0.690; p < 0.02). In periventricular and frontal regions, mean T2 were 217+/-33, and 228+/-32 ms respectively, and more marked negative linear correlations with age were observed (r = 0.833; p < 0.001 and r = 0.722; p < 0.02). For these regions, the rate of T2 decrease with age appeared to be related to known patterns of myelination. For the parietal region studied, mean T2 was 204+/-34 ms, no significant dependence upon GPA being seen. T2 shows promise as an objective measure of cerebral development in the perinatal period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, University College, London, UK. jst@medphys.ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Amess
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Penrice
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wyatt
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ordidge
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014867:Water