?根据七月的《放射学》杂志，研究人员最近使用了一种新技术来观察婴儿大脑发育以及检测脑白质紊乱。
??挪威Veldhoven 的Máxima 医学中心的Carola van Pul博士和他的同事研究了七个正常的婴儿和十个产期缺氧贫血的婴儿－一种大脑在一个阶段氧气以及营养缺乏而导致的脑损伤，经常是由于母亲向婴儿传输营养时期的复杂情况造成的。缺氧贫血损伤可以导致严重的动力问题。
??van Pul 博士说：“这种大脑损伤的模式严重的影响到了婴儿的神经和正常的发育。早期阶段的损伤检测对于婴儿的发育是必要的，可以避免大脑的永久性损伤以及提高优生率。”
??研究人员使用“扩张量”核磁共振技术，即描述组织中的水分子的扩散或者置换程度。贫血导致组织变化能够通过扩散量成像得到，要比传统的核磁共振早两到三个小时。这个研究小组应用光纤跟踪技术，通过扩散量成像构建一个大脑白质的三维立体图。应用这项技术，经过三个月损伤区域的发育的监测，重构出了大脑白质图。这在世界上，是第一次历时三个月通过光纤追踪技术来评价新生儿大脑发育状况的技术。
??一开始，光纤追踪技术就显示了10个贫血婴儿有8个婴儿的大脑图谱不同于正常婴儿。大脑白质的光纤成像技图谱发现大脑的几个区域紊乱，包括胼胝体－连接大脑两半球的神经组织构成的拱形桥，能使大脑左右两半交流，最重要的是辐射冠，起调整人体协同运动作用。所有的有着辐射冠紊乱模式的婴儿明显有着动力协调问题。
??van Pul 博士说：“婴儿的微小的脑白质变态可以通过三个月时间的光纤跟踪技术观察到，它们有着明显持续的标记变化。”
??缺氧性贫血是导致婴儿致死和病态一个重要的原因。在美国大约每一千个新生儿有一到两个会患有此病。
Researchers have used a new technique to monitor brain development in infants and detect disturbances in white matter, according to a study in the July issue of Radiology.
Carola van Pul, Ph.D., and colleagues from Mḩma Medical Center in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, studied seven normal infants and 10 infants with perinatal hypoxic ischemia, a type of brain injury caused by a period of oxygen and nutrient deficiency, usually as a result of complications during delivery. Hypoxic ischemic injury can result in severe motor problems.
"The pattern and extent of the brain injury largely determine the neurological and developmental consequences for the newborn," Dr. van Pul said. "The detection of injury at an early stage is essential for the development of strategies to limit permanent brain damage and to improve prognosis."
The researchers used 'diffusion tensor' magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which depicts the diffusion, or displacement, of water molecules through tissue. Ischemia results in tissue changes that are visible with diffusion tensor imaging at least two to three hours before they can be seen on conventional MRI. The team then applied fiber tracking to construct a 3-D visualization of the brain's white matter tracts based on the diffusion tensor images. The procedure was repeated after three months to monitor the development of the injured regions. This is the first time a group of newborns has been evaluated with fiber tracking at birth and at three months.
At birth, fiber tracking showed a different fiber pattern in eight of the 10 neonates with ischemia, compared to the images obtained from the normal infants. The fiber pattern of the brain's white matter was disturbed in several areas of the brain, including the corpus callosum, which allows communication between the two hemispheres of the brain, and, most significantly, the corona radiata, which is associated with finely coordinated movement. Six of the 10 infants continued to exhibit disturbed fiber patterns at follow-up. All of the infants who had disturbed patterns in the corona radiata at three months had major motor problems.
"Minor white matter abnormalities seen with fiber tracking tended to resolve at three months, while marked changes persisted," Dr. van Pul said. "Further investigation is needed to determine whether the detected fiber abnormalities ultimately correlate with outcomes."
Hypoxic ischemia remains an important cause of infant mortality and morbidity, with an incidence of between one and two per 1,000 live births in the United States.
