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The myelination process in severely malnourished children: MRI findings

Adriano Nassri Hazin1, João Guilherme Bezerra Alves, Ana Rodrigues Falbo

  • 1Instituto Materno Infantil Prof. Fernando Figueira, Recife, Brazil.

The International Journal of Neuroscience
|July 7, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Severe malnutrition in infants does not significantly delay brain myelination. Cranial MRI in 20 infants showed minimal myelination delay despite widespread cerebral atrophy in most cases.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Nutritional Neuroscience
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Severe protein energy malnutrition (PEM) can impact infant neurodevelopment.
  • Myelination is a critical process in early brain development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in infants with severe PEM.
  • To determine if malnutrition is associated with delayed myelination in children under two years old.

Main Methods:

  • Cranial MRI scans were performed on 20 children aged 2–24 months with severe PEM.
  • Children were classified based on malnutrition type: wasting, edematous malnutrition, or stunting.
  • Myelination delay was assessed using established criteria (Barkovich et al., 2000; van der Knaap and Valk, 2005).

Main Results:

  • Two out of 20 children (10%), both with severe stunting, showed evidence of myelination delay.
  • Cerebral atrophy was observed in 17 out of 20 children (85%).
  • The majority of infants did not exhibit significant myelination delay.

Conclusions:

  • Severe protein energy malnutrition in the first two years of life does not appear to cause significant delays in brain myelination.
  • Cerebral atrophy is a common MRI finding in infants with severe malnutrition.
  • Nutritional impact on myelination may be less pronounced than previously thought in this age group.

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