Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging studies have contributed to recognize the patterns of cerebral injury related to neonatal encephalopathy (NE). We assessed whether a smaller corpus callosum (CC) explained the difference in motor performance between school-age children with NE and controls. Frontal, middle, and posterior areas of the CC were measured in 61 9–10-y-old children with NE and in 47 controls. Motor performance was determined using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC). Linear regression was used to assess whether differences in M-ABC between NE children and controls could be explained by CC size. The CC of 11/30 children with NE type I according to Sarnat (NE I) and 19/36 children with NE type II according to Sarnat (NE II) showed generalized or focal thinning, compared with 8/49 controls. Children with NE II had significantly smaller middle and posterior parts and total areas of the CC. Children with NE scored significantly worse on the M-ABC than controls. The reduction in size of the posterior part of the CC partly explained the mean differences on the M-ABC. Children with NE have poorer motor skills than controls, which is partly explained by a smaller size of the CC.
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Abbreviations
- CC:
-
corpus callosum
- M-ABC:
-
Movement Assessment Battery for Children
- MCS:
-
midsagittal cerebral size
- NE:
-
neonatal encephalopathy
- NE I:
-
mild neonatal encephalopathy
- NE II:
-
moderate neonatal encephalopathy
- TIS:
-
Total Impairment Score
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van Kooij, B., van Handel, M., Uiterwaal, C. et al. Corpus Callosum Size in Relation to Motor Performance in 9- to 10-Year-Old Children with Neonatal Encephalopathy. Pediatr Res 63, 103–108 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e31815b4435
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e31815b4435
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