New Approach to Detect CP and Brain Injury by Term Age

描述（由申请人提供）： 医疗技术和护理的危重新生儿在过去的3 几十年极低出生体重儿（VLBW）的存活率， 国家卫生费用和家庭困难，现在已经成为现实。而且 极低出生体重早产儿的数量已经开始增加，由于在 生育科学和母亲年龄的增加。长期神经学 这些最低体重和胎龄婴儿的发病率增加。的 过去，这一人群的残疾发生率变化不大 几十年极低出生体重早产儿占所有脑血管病儿童的25%。 麻痹（CP）。目前，我们缺乏诊断技术来识别脑损伤 例如CP早期（即，年龄矫正后）。虽然脑损伤 从新生儿早期就存在，需要1-2年的时间才能出现疾病。 神经学上表现出来。因此，我们了解更多原因的能力， 目前的预防和治疗非常有限。该提案利用 最先进的核磁共振成像技术来预测那些早产儿， 发展CP。这一创新的建议涉及一个及时的儿科问题， 对儿科医生、神经科医生、小儿神经科医生至关重要， 放射科医生和磁共振物理学家。使用定量MRI、EEG和 神经行为测试，我们希望能够确定婴儿在CP的风险， 早在受孕后37周。新生儿， 神经学和神经影像学专业知识是我们的进步不可或缺的 在1-2岁之前检测新生儿神经生物学病理学的知识 年龄发现一种新的方法来早期识别脑损伤是至关重要的， 才有可能有效地调查干预措施， 改善这些高危极早产儿神经学结局。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There have been significant advances in medical technology and care for critically ill neonates over the last 3 decades. Survival of very low birth weight infants (VLBW), at a significant national health cost and family hardship, is now a reality. Furthermore, the number of VLBW preterm infants has begun to increase due to advances in the science of fertility and increasing maternal age. The long term neurological morbidity for these lowest weight and gestational age infants is increased. The incidence of handicap in this population has changed little over the past decades. VLBW preterm infants constitute 25% of all children with cerebral palsy (CP). Currently, we lack diagnostic techniques to identify brain injury such as CP early (i.e., around corrected term age). Although the brain injury is present from early neonatal period, it takes 1-2 years before the disease is neurologically manifested. Thus, our ability to learn more about causes, prevention, and treatment is currently very limited. This proposal utilizes state-of-the-art MRI technology to predict those preterm infants who will develop CP. This innovative proposal concerns a timely pediatric problem of critical importance to pediatricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, radiologists and MR physicists. Using quantitative MRI, EEG, and neurobehavioral tests we hope to be able to identify infants at risk for CP as early as 37 weeks post conceptional age. The collaboration between neonatal, neurological, and neuroimaging expertise is integral for an advance in our knowledge of detecting neonatal neurobiological pathology prior to 1-2 years of age. It is essential to discover a new approach to identify brain injury early, before it will be possible to effectively investigate interventions that can improve neurological outcome of these high risk very premature infants.