• Gwendolyn J Gerner, Eric I Newman, V Joanna Burton, Brenton Roman, Elizabeth A Cristofalo, Mary Leppert, Michael V Johnston, Frances J Northington, Huisman Thierry A G M TAGM 2 Neurosciences Intensive Care Nursery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. , and Andrea Poretti.
• 1 Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
• J. Child Neurol. 2019 Sep 1; 34 (10): 556-566.

AimHypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is associated with damage to deep gray matter; however, white matter involvement has become recognized. This study explored differences between patients and clinical controls on diffusion tensor imaging, and relationships between diffusion tensor imaging and neurodevelopmental outcomes.MethodDiffusion tensor imaging was obtained for 31 neonates after hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy treated with therapeutic hypothermia and 10 clinical controls. A subgroup of patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (n = 14) had neurodevelopmental outcomes correlated with diffusion tensor imaging scalars.ResultsGroup differences in diffusion tensor imaging scalars were observed in the putamen, anterior and posterior centrum semiovale, and the splenium of the corpus callosum. Differences in these regions of interest were correlated with neurodevelopmental outcomes between ages 20 and 32 months.ConclusionTherapeutic hypothermia may not be a complete intervention for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, as neonatal white matter changes may continue to be evident, but further research is warranted. Patterns of white matter change on neonatal diffusion tensor imaging correlated with neurodevelopmental outcomes in this exploratory pilot study.

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