Arabhi C. Nagasunder1, Hannah C. Kinney2,
Caroline Jane Tavare3, Tena Rosser4, Floyd H. Gilles3,
Marvin D. Nelson1, Stefan Bluml1,5, Ashok Panigrahy1,6
1Department of Radiology, Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; 2Department
of Pathology, Children's Hospital of Boston, Boston, MA, United States; 3Department
of Neuropathology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United
States; 4Division of Neurology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles,
Los Angeles, CA, United States; 5Rudi Schulte Research Institute,
Santa Barbara, CA, United States; 6Children's Hospital of
Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Long-term
survivors of prematurity with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) suffer major
cognitive deficits. One of the critical structures is the thalamus which is
involved in cognition via extensive interconnections with the cerebral
cortex. The goal of this study was to show combined volumetric and DTI data
within the parenchyma of the thalamus in childhood survivors of prematurity
with PVL. We found significant atrophy in combination with microstructural
abnormalities with preferential pulvinar injury.