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Effects of very low birthweight on brain structure in adulthood

Matthew Allin1, Max Henderson, John Suckling

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK. matthew.allin@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|February 21, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Very-low-birthweight (VLBW) adults show significant increases in lateral ventricular volume and altered grey-to-white matter ratios compared to controls. These brain structure changes in VLBW individuals are linked to early perinatal injury and neurodevelopment.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Very-low-birthweight (VLBW) individuals face heightened risks of perinatal brain injury.
  • Understanding the long-term effects of early brain lesions on adult brain structure is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how early brain lesions in very-low-birthweight individuals impact adult brain structure.
  • To compare brain morphology in adulthood between VLBW individuals and normal birthweight controls.

Main Methods:

  • Structural MRI scans were acquired from 32 VLBW adults and 18 sibling controls.
  • Automated tissue segmentation analyzed whole brain tissue class volumes.
  • Images were warped to a standard template for group comparison.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in total brain, grey matter, white matter, or CSF volumes were found.
  • VLBW adults exhibited a 41% increase in lateral ventricular volume.
  • A 10% higher grey-to-white matter ratio was observed in VLBW adults.
  • Widespread changes in grey and white matter distribution and increased ventricular CSF were noted in VLBW individuals.
  • Increased ventricular volume correlated with reduced subcortical grey matter and periventricular white matter.

Conclusions:

  • Perinatal brain injury in VLBW individuals leads to diffuse abnormalities in adult brain structure.
  • These structural changes result from the interplay between early injury and ongoing neurodevelopmental processes.
  • Altered brain morphology in VLBW adults, particularly ventricular enlargement, impacts grey and white matter integrity.

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