Table 1.
GA = gestational age, M = male, F = female, SD = standard deviation, * Difference between infants with non-cystic and infants with cystic-white matter injury (WMI).
Fig 1.
26 week gestation infant; cUS and MRI at 32 weeks post-menstrual age.
(a) cUS mid-coronal view, showing a focal lesion in the white matter also seen on early MRI-T2 weighted (b) and at TEA-T1 weighted MRI (c)
Fig 2.
28 week gestation infant; cUS at 5 weeks and TEA-MRI.
cUS, coronal (a) and left parasagittal (b) views showing a single cyst and echogenicity surrounding the cyst. T1-weighted MRI at TEA confirming the cyst and several focal lesions of increased signal intensity bilaterally (c).
Fig 3.
(a) right parasagittal cUS (day 21) showing extensive cysts. The cysts are no longer seen at TEA but there are some punctate lesions of increased echogenicity in the periventricular white matter; there is also white matter loss with sulci abutting the ventricles as well as increased/enlarged extracerebral space (b).
Fig 4.
(a) Early coronal T2-weighted MRI (day 27) showing extensive cysts, more prominent on the right. (b) The cysts are no longer seen on the T1-weighted TEA-MRI but extensive high signal intensity changes and white matter loss are seen instead, more marked on the right side; and (c) a single small cyst on the right is still seen shown on the T2-weighted MRI.
Fig 5.
Survivor of monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy, who had inhomogeneous echogenicity at birth and showed cystic evolution by day fourteen.
Note the discrepancy between the appearance of the cysts on cUS (a) and on the T2-weighted MRI (b), both performed at three weeks. Also note the abnormalities on cUS and MRI in the thalami.
Fig 6.
Diagram showing evolution of cystic lesions between early/mid MRI and TEA MRI in the 22 infants with early extensive cysts and at least 2 MRIs in the neonatal period.
Fig 7.
31 week gestation infant; cUS performed 4 weeks after birth.
Coronal (a) and right parasagittal view (b) showing extensive cysts, more so on the right. (c) First T2-weighted MRI performed 4 weeks after birth showing extensive cysts, more prominent on the right. (d) The cysts were no longer seen on the T1-weighted TEA-MRI; extensive high SI changes and white matter loss are seen instead, also more marked on the right side.
Fig 8.
Inversion Recovery images, performed in three preterm infants at TEA.
(a) Normal myelination of the PLIC. (b) Sparse myelination, slightly better on the right; and (c) no myelination.
Table 2.
MRI classification for preterm white matter injury.
BGT: Basal-ganglia thalami, DWI: Diffusion weighed imaging, PLIC: Posterior limb of the internal capsule, PWMLs: Periventricular white matter lesions, SI: Signal intensity, TEA: Term equivalent age, VM: Ventriculomegaly.