Developmental factors regulating susceptibility to perinatal brain injury and seizures.
OBJECTIVE
To review the unique pattern of developmentally regulated factors that govern the susceptibility of the brain during the preterm and term windows of development.


RESULTS
The neonatal brain shows unique regional differences in susceptibility to injury. In response to the common insult of hypoxia/ischemia, the preterm brain exhibits regional white matter susceptibility, while gray matter is affected in the term brain. Developmental regulation of specific cellular factors is likely to underlie these age-specific differences.


CONCLUSIONS
A better understanding of these factors could contribute to the development of new age-specific therapeutic strategies with clinical potential for disorders such as periventricular leukomalacia in the preterm and neonatal seizures in the term infant.
Jensen
Frances E
FE
Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Program in Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. frances.jensen@childrens.harvard.edu
D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology*; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D005333:Fetus / Q000002:abnormalities; D006801:Humans; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D007969:Leukomalacia, Periventricular / Q000209:etiology