The development of cerebral perfusion in healthy preterm and term neonates

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Physiology
• Neuroimaging
• Pediatric Neurology

Background:

• Infants are highly susceptible to brain injury during the perinatal period.
• Understanding brain perfusion is critical for assessing neonatal brain health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively measure cerebral blood flow (CBF) volume in healthy preterm and term infants.
• To delineate the physiological characteristics of brain perfusion in relation to postmenstrual age (PA).

Main Methods:

• Sonographic flowmetry was used to measure blood flow in the internal carotid arteries (ICA) and vertebral arteries (VA).
• 113 healthy infants aged 32-42 weeks postmenstrual age were studied.
• Estimated CBF per 100g brain weight was calculated using head circumference-based brain weight estimations.

Main Results:

• Mean CBF volume significantly increased with postmenstrual age, from 33 ml/min at 32-34 weeks to 83 ml/min at 41-42 weeks.
• No significant differences in CBF volume were observed between sexes.
• The relative contribution of vertebral artery flow to total CBF remained constant at approximately 26%.

Conclusions:

• Cerebral blood flow volume demonstrates a significant positive correlation with postmenstrual age in neonates.
• Rising CBF volume reflects the increasing metabolic demands of the developing brain.
• These findings provide crucial physiological data for monitoring brain perfusion in vulnerable infants.