title: Quantitative fiber tracking in the corpus callosum and internal capsule reveals microstructural abnormalities in preterm infants at term-equivalent age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Signal-intensity abnormalities in the PLIC and thinning of the CC are often seen in preterm infants and associated with poor outcome. DTI is able to detect subtle abnormalities. We used FT to select bundles of interest (CC and PLIC) to acquire additional information on the WMI.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred twenty preterm infants born at <31 weeks' gestation with 3T DTI at TEA entered this prospective study. Quantitative information (ie, volume, length, anisotropy, and MD) was obtained from fiber bundles passing through the PLIC and CC. A general linear model was used to assess the effects of factor (sex) and variables (GA, BW, HC, PMA, and WMI) on FT-segmented parameters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-two CC and 85 PLIC fiber bundles were assessed. For the CC, increasing WMI and decreasing FA (P = .038), bundle volume (P < .001), and length (P = .001) were observed, whereas MD increased (P = .001). For PLIC, MD increased with increasing WMI (P = .002). Higher anisotropy and larger bundle length were observed in the left PLIC compared with the right (P = .003, P = .018).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have shown that in the CC bundle, anisotropy was decreased and diffusivity was increased in infants with high WMI scores. A relation of PLIC with WMI was also shown but was less pronounced. Brain maturation is affected more if birth was more premature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital/University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. c.vanpul@mmc.nl
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Pul
authors.forename: B J M
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: van Kooij
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: M J N L
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Benders
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vilanova
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Groenendaal
mesh_terms: D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D020772:Internal Capsule / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity