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Published on: April 21, 2017
Neonatal cerebral infarction and visual function at school age
E Mercuri1, S Anker, A Guzzetta
1Department of Paediatrics, Hammersmith Campus, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK. e.mercuri@ic.ac.uk
Insights
Visual function abnormalities are uncommon in school-aged children with neonatal cerebral infarction. When present, these visual issues are often linked to hemiplegia and more severe brain lesions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Developmental Neurology
Background:
- Neonatal cerebral infarction, a condition affecting newborns, can have long-term neurological consequences.
- Assessing visual function in affected children is crucial for early intervention and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate diverse visual functions in school-aged children diagnosed with neonatal cerebral infarction.
- To correlate visual function deficits with the characteristics of neonatal brain lesions.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 16 children with perinatal onset cerebral infarction (confirmed by neonatal MRI) underwent comprehensive visual testing.
- Tests included assessments of crowding acuity, stereopsis, and visual fields.
- Findings were correlated with neonatal MRI data on lesion type and extent.
Main Results:
- Only 28% of the children exhibited visual function abnormalities.
- More extensive lesions, particularly involving the middle cerebral artery, were associated with a higher incidence of visual deficits.
- Visual field abnormalities were exclusively observed in children with hemiplegia.
Conclusions:
- Visual function impairment is not prevalent in children with neonatal cerebral infarction.
- When visual abnormalities occur, they are frequently associated with hemiplegia and more significant cerebral lesions.
Objective:
To assess various aspects of visual function at school age in children with neonatal cerebral infarction.
Patients And Methods:
Sixteen children born at term, who had cerebral infarction of perinatal onset on neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were assessed using a battery of visual tests. This included measures of crowding acuity (Cambridge Crowding Cards), stereopsis (TNO test), and visual fields. The results of the visual assessment were compared with the type and the extent of the lesion observed on neonatal MRI.
Results:
Only six of the 16 children (28%) had some abnormalities of visual function on these tests. Visual abnormalities were more common in children with more extensive lesions involving the main branch of the middle cerebral artery and were less often associated with lesions in the territory of one of the cortical branches of the middle cerebral artery. The presence of visual abnormalities was not always associated with the involvement of optic radiations or occipital primary visual cortex. Abnormal visual fields were only found in children who also developed hemiplegia.
Conclusions:
Abnormality of visual function is not common in children who had neonatal infarction and, when present, tends to be associated with hemiplegia and more extensive lesions.
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