title: White matter abnormalities are related to microstructural changes in preterm neonates at term-equivalent age: a diffusion tensor imaging and probabilistic tractography study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preterm infants have a high risk of brain injury and neurodevelopmental impairment, often associated with WMA on conventional MR imaging. DTI can provide insight into white matter microstructure. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between WMA on conventional MR imaging and DTI parameters in specific fibers in preterm neonates at term-equivalent age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy preterm neonates (39 boys and 31 girls) were included in the study. WMA were classified as no, mild, moderate, or severe. Probabilistic tractography provided tract volumes, FA, MD, λ(//), and λ(⊥) in the CST, SLF, TRs, and corpus callosum. Data were compared by using MANOVA, and adjustment for multiple comparisons was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Important associations were found between WMA and microstructural changes. Compared with neonates with no WMA (n = 41), those with mild WMA (n = 27) had significantly increased λ(⊥) and MD in the left ATR, the left sensory STR, the bilateral motor STR, and for λ(⊥) also in the right CST; FA decreased significantly in the left sensory STR. Diminished tract volumes and altered diffusion indices were also observed in the 2 neonates with moderate WMA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Altered DTI indices in specific tracts, with λ(⊥) as most prominent, are associated with mild WMA in preterm neonates at term-equivalent age.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Radiology, ULB-Hôpital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium. yanliu@ulb.ac.be
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aeby
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Balériaux
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Absil
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Maertelaer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Bogaert
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Avni
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Metens
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D047928:Premature Birth; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity