title: Abnormal cerebral MRI findings and neuroimpairments in very low birth weight (VLBW) adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  High prevalence of abnormal cerebral MRI findings as well as major and minor motor, perceptual and cognitive impairments has been reported in very low birth weight (VLBW) children.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether cerebral MRI pathology relates to different types of neuroimpairments in adolescents with VLBW.
  
  
  METHODS
  At age 15, 55 adolescents with birth weight < or = 1500 g (VLBW) were examined. Motor function was evaluated by Movement Assessment Battery for Children (ABC) and the Grooved Pegboard (GP) test, cognitive function by Wechsler Intelligence Scales, and visuo-motor and visual perceptual function by The Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) with the supplementary tests of Visual Perception (VP), and Motor Coordination (MC). Executive functions were assessed by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Stroop test. Cerebral MRI was assessed semi-quantitatively for ventricular, white and grey matter pathology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a rather weak relationship between MRI pathology and neuroimpairments. Poor performance on the WCST was related with ventricular dilatation (VD), white matter reduction and corpus callosum thinning. There was a correlation between results on the VMI test and the Movement ABC test and MRI pathology, but the correlation became much weaker when children with cerebral palsy were excluded. There was no relationship between MRI findings and estimated intelligence quotient (IQ) scores. Normal MRI predicted normal or near normal neuropsychological functioning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cerebral MRI pathology suggestive of perinatal white matter injury was related to disadvantages in performances on executive functions, to a lesser degree to motor and visual perceptual problems, but not to cognitive impairments in VLBW adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kvinne/barnsenteret, Olav Kyrres gt. 11, N-7489 Trondheim, Norway. jon.skranes@ntnu.no
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skranes
authors.forename: Karianne Indredavik
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Evensen
authors.forename: Gro C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Løhaugen
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinussen
authors.forename: Siri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kulseng
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Myhr
authors.forename: Torstein
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vik
authors.forename: Ann-Mari
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brubakk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D061085:Agenesis of Corpus Callosum; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005911:Gliosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data